^0^^rWmwe)^ 


f=\. 


%^ 


I 


'Um:^^:^^ 


BX  9223  .B86  1895   v. 2 
Brown,  Peter  Hume,  1849- 

1918. 
John  Knox 


JOHN    KNOX 


A  BIOGRAPHY 


OF  PR///5 


.  2-6.  96 


BY 


/ 


P.    HUME    BROWN 


AUTHOR    OF    '  THE    LIFE   OF   GEORGE    BUCHANAN 


IN  TWO  VOLUMES 
VOL.   IL 


LONDON 

ADAM    AND    CHARLES    BLACK 

1895 


CONTENTS 


BOOK   IV.  {Continued).— Yi^O^   IN  SCOTLAND- 
THE  RELIGIOUS  REVOLUTION 

(1559-1560) 


CHAPTER    I 

THE   WAR    OF   THE   CONGREGATION — KNOX   AT    PERTH    AND 
ST.    ANDREWS 


(1559) 

Knox  the  most  representative  Figure  of  the  Revolution 

His  Return  to  Scotland 

Negotiations  of  the  Regent  and  the  Congregation 

Doings  in  Perth 

The  Regent  determines  to  crush  the  Congregation 

Manifestoes  of  the  Protestants     . 

The  Regent's  Overtures  to  the  Congregation 

They  are  accepted 

The  Actors  in  the  Revolution     . 

The  Regent  enters  Perth 

The  Protestant  Lords  leave  it     . 

Knox  in  St.  Andrews    . 

Temporary  Agreement  of  the  Regent  and  the  Protestants 

Expiry  of  the  Truce 

Knox  at  Scone  .... 

The  Regent  retires  to  Dunbar    . 

The  Protestants  enter  Edinburgh 

Aims  of  the  twro  Parties 

Knox  appointed  Minister  in  Edinburgh  . 


PAGE 

3 
4 
5 
6 

9 
10 
12 
13 
14 
IS 
16 
16 

19 
20 
21 
22 

23 
24 
27 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 


The  Regent  marches  on  Leith    . 

Temporary  Arrangement 

The  Congregation  retires  from  Edinburgh 


28 
31 


CHAPTER    II 


THE   SECOND    RISING — KNOX    AS    AGENT    AND    SECRETARY 
TO    THE   CONGREGATION 

(1559) 

The  Protestants  look  for  help  to  England 

Relations  of  France,  England,  and  Scotland 

Knox  opens  Communication  with  England 

Knox  and  Cecil 

Knox  visits  the  North  of  England 

Returns  to  Stirling 

English  Assistance 

Knox's  preaching  Journeys 

Knox  in  St.  Andrews     . 

The  Earl  of  Arran  joins  the  Congregation 

Importance  of  this  Accession 

The  Duke  deserts  the  Regent     . 

Letter  of  Knox  describing  the  Situation  . 

The  Congregation  enters  Edinburgh 

The  Regent  deposed 

Proclamation  justifying  the  Step 

Latin  Manifesto  of  the  Congregation 

Exploit  of  the  Earl  of  Bothwell 

Knox's  various  Labours 

His  Correspondence  with  Crofts 

The  Congregation  withdraws  from  Edinburgh 

Meeting  at  Stirling 

Plans  for  the  Future 


33 
34 
35 

37 
40 

41 
42 

43 
43 
44 
46 

47 
49 
50 
51 
52 
53 
55 
56 
57 
59 
60 
61 


CHAPTER    HI 


THE   THIRD    RISING    OF   THE   CONGREGATION — KNOX 
IN    THE    BACKGROUND 


(1559-1560) 


Knox  in  the  Background 
Reasons  for  this 


62 
63 


CONTENTS 


Knox  in  Fife 

D'Oysel's  Expedition  into  Fife 

Exertions  of  Knox 

Help  from  England 

Knox  and  Chatelherault 

Agreement  of  Berwick   . 

French  Expedition  to  Glasgow 

English  Army  enters  Scotland 

Mutual  Feelings  of  Scots  and  English 

Last  Appeal  of  the  Congregation  to  the 

English  and  Scots  before  Leith  . 

Death  of  the  Regent 

Results  of  her  Rule 

Treaty  of  Edinburgh 


Regent 


63 
65 
66 
67 
69 
70 

71 
72 

73 

74 
76 
78 
79 
82 


CHAPTER    IV 


KNOX    AND    THE    RELIGIOUS    REVOLUTION 

(1560-1561) 

Giles 


Knox's  Sermon  in  the  Church  of  St 

His  Discourses  on  Haggai 

Meeting  of  the  Estates  . 

The  Confession  of  Faith 

Acts  against  the  old  Religion 

Lord  St.  John's  Mission  to  France 

Embassy  to  England 

Knox  and  the  Earl  of  Arran 

History  of  the  Reformation  in  Scotland 

Fears  of  Knox  . 

Death  of  his  Wife 

Interview  with  the  Duke  and  the  Lord  J 

Arran  and  Mary 

Increasing  danger  of  the  new  Religion 

Meeting  of  Convention  . 

Debate  before  the  Convention    . 

Activity  of  the  Ministers 

Action  of  the  Queen 

The  Lord  James  in  France 

Meeting  of  the  Estates  . 

Demands  of  the  Ministers 

Knox's  Troubles  in  Edinburgh   . 

Probable  Results  of  the  Queen's  Return 

Knox  and  Mary 


85 
86 
88 
90 

91 
92 

93 
94 
95 
95 
96 

97 
98 

99 
100 

lOI 

102 
104 
106 
107 
108 
no 
III 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 


CHAPTER    V 


THE   NEW   THEOLOGY    AND    RELIGION 

The  Scottish  Reformation  a  National  Movement 

Affinity  between  the  Scottish  Genius  and  Calvinistic  Theology     . 

Scholasticism  of  Knox   ...... 

Affinity  between  the  Scottish  Character  and  the  Religion  of  Calvin 
Contrast  between  the  Religion  of  Rome  and  primitive  Christianity 
Ethical  Side  of  the  Scottish  Reformation 
Knox  and  the  New  Testament  .  . 


PAGE 

113 

115 
116 
117 
119 
120 
120 


CHAPTER    VI 


THE    BOOK    OF    DISCIPLINE 


The  Scottish  Confession  of  Faith 

The  special  Position  of  the  Scottish  Reformers 

Origin  of  the  Book  of  Discipline 

Calvin  and  John  k  Lasco 

Contents  of  the  Book     . 

True  and  False  Doctrine,  the  Sacraments 

Election  of  Ministers 

The  office  of  Reader 

Each  Congregation  to  be  self-supporting 

Office  of  Stiperintendent 

Education  .... 

Character  of  the  System  proposed 

Provision  for  the  Ministers 

The  Property  of  the  old  Church 

Rules  regarding  Discipline 

Election  of  Elders 

"  Policy  of  the  Church  " 

"  Weekly  Prophesy ings  " 

Character  and  Tendency  of  the  Book  of  Discipline 

Church  and  State  .... 


122 
123 

125 
127 
128 
129 
130 

131 
132 

133 
135 
139 

140 
141 
142 

145 
146 

147 
148 
150 


CONTENTS 


BOOK     v.— THE  SECOND   REVOLUTION— THE 
TRIUMPH   OF  KNOX 

(1560-1572) 


CHAPTER    I 

KNOX    AND   THE   POLITICIANS 
(1561-1565) 

Immediate  Results  of  Mary's  Return  to  Scotland 

Policy  of  Foreign  Powers  towards  Scotland 

Internal  State  of  the  Country 

Knox  and  the  Protestant  Lords  . 

His  Sermon  on  the  new  Situation 

First  Interview  between  Knox  and  Mary 

His  Opinion  of  her 

Knox  and  the  Protestant  Lords 

Meeting  of  General  Assembly     . 

Knox,  Arran,  and  Bothwell 

General  Assembly  again  meets   . 

Knox's  Journey  to  the  West  and  South 

His  public  Debate  with  the  Abbot  of  Crossraguel 

Returns  to  Edinburgh    . 

Second  Interview  with  Maiy 

The  Case  of  Paul  Methven 

Third  Intei'view  of  Knox  with  Mary 

Meeting  of  the  Estates  . 

\Quarrel  of  Knox  and  Moray 

]Fourth  Interview  with  Mary 

("Knox  accused  of  Treason 

'His  Acquittal    . 

Jvnox's  second  Marriage 

JMeeting  of  Assembly 

Mary's  Change  of  Policy 

|Her  Marriage  with  Darnley 

]She  casts  off  her  Protestant  Advisers 

jKnox  and  Darnley 

JGloomy  Prospects  of  the  Reformation 


PAGE 

155 
156 
157 
159 
160 
161 
166 
167 
168 
174 
174 
176 
177 
179 
181 
183 
185 
187 
189 
192 
198 
200 
201 
202 
205 
206 
207 
208 
209 


I  CHAPTER    n 

"  HISTORIE    OF    THE    REFORMATION    IN    SCOTLAND  " 

Biographical  Importance  of  the  History  .... 
Its  Bibliographical  Adventures    ..... 


211 
212 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 


Origin  of  tlie  History     . 

The  First  Book 

The  Second  and  Third  Books    . 

Characteristics  of  the  Fourth  Book 

Inferiority  of  the  Fiftli  Book 

Unique  Character  of  the  History 

Its  moral  and  intellectual  Quality 


CHAPTER    III 

THE   SECOND    REVOLUTION — KNOX    AND    MORAY 
(1565-1570) 


PAGE  ' 

217: 
218! 
220' 

22l| 

22? 

223 
"1 


Predominance  of  Rizzio 

22( 
22' 

Meeting  of  Assembly 

Knox  despatched  on  a  preaching  Journe 

y 

22( 

Murder  of  Rizzio 

23J 
23J 

Knox  in  the  West  of  Scotland    . 

The  Second  Revolution 

23' 

Knox  and  Mary 

23'/ 

His  Visit  to  England 

238 

Dethronement  of  Mary  . 

240 

Meeting  of  Assembly      . 

241 

Activity  of  Knox 

242 

His  Authority  in  the  Countiy 

24^ 

Triumph  of  Knox's  Party 

246 

Escape  of  Mary  from  Lochleven 

2485 

Letter  of  Knox  on  the  Situation 

24^ 
2S( 

Assassination  of  Moray 

Knox's  Grief  and  Indignation     . 

25i 

CHAPTER    IV 


THE   CASTLE    OF    EDINBURGH — KNOX    AND    KIRKCALDY   OF   GRANGE' 

(1570-1571) 


The  Reformation  endangered 

Pasquinade  against  Moray 

Knox  deals  vi'ith  it  . 

Castle  of  Edinburgh  and  its  Inmates 

Knox  as  depicted  in  Bannatyne's  Meiiioriales 

King's  and  Queen's  Parties 

Knox  struck  with  Apoplexy    . 


253 
25^ 
25! 
256 

257 
258 

259 


CONTENTS 


Knox's  Controversy  with  Kirkcaldy  of  Grange 

-.etter  regarding  Knox  . 

Utack  on  Knox 

Cnox  leaves  Edinburgh 

i'revious  Visit  to  the  Castle 


CHAPTER    V 

KNOX    IN    ST.    ANDREWS — BEGINNINGS    OF    EPISCOPACY 

(1571-1572) 

State  of  Feeling  in  St.  Andrews 
Knox  as  depicted  by  James  Melville 
Various  Labours  of  Knox 
Beginnings  of  Episcopacy 
Knox  and  the  Earl  of  Morton 
Controversies  in  St.  Andrews 
Knox  and  the  Jesuit  Tyrie 
Knox  and  Mrs.  Bowes  . 
His  Letter  to  the  General  Assembly 


PAGE 
260 
261 
262 
263 
264 


266 
267 
268 
269 
271 
272 

275 
276 
278 


CHAPTER    VI 

KNOX    AND    THE    MASSACRE    OF    ST.    BARTHOLOMEW- 
LAST    DAYS — CONCLUSION 

(1572) 


Knox's  Return  to  Edinburgh 

280 

Chooses  a  Colleague 

281 

The  Massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew 

282 

Knox  and  Maiy 
Induction  of  his  Successor 

284 
285 

His  last  Illness 

286 

His  Death  and  Burial    . 

288 

His  Family 

His  personal  Appearance 

Estimate  of  his  Life  and  Work 

289 
290 
291 

APPENDIX    A 

Conditions  of  the  Grant  of  the  Church  of  the  White  Ladies,  Frankfort, 
to  the  English  Congregation  .  .  .  .  . 


299 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 


APPENDIX    B 

PAGE 

Letter  of  Mary  and  the  Dauphin  to  the  Pope      ....       300 


APPENDIX    C 

Slander  against  Knox    .......        303 

APPENDIX    D 

Knox  and  the  Rizzio  Murder      ......        304 

APPENDIX    E 

Catholic  Legends  regarding  Knox  .  .  .  .  .311 

APPENDIX    F 

Knox's  Places  of  Residence  in  Edinburgh  .  .  .  •       S^S 

APPENDIX    G 

The  Portrait  and  Personal  Appearance  of  Knox  .  .  ,       320 


Index 


32,5 


BOOK     I  v.— Continued 

KNOX    IN    SCOTLAND 
THE    RELIGIOUS    REVOLUTION 

1559-1560 


VOL.  II 


CHAPTER    I 

THE    WAR    OF    THE    CONGREGATION KNOX    AT 

PERTH    AND    ST.    ANDREWS 

1559 

In  following  the  steps  of  Knox  during  the  next  twelve 
months  we  have  virtually  to  relate  the  history  of  Scot- 
land. It  was  more  important  to  the  Protestant  cause 
that  the  Lord  James  Stewart  and  the  Earl  of  Argyle 
should  have  taken  it  up  than  Knox  :  to  the  former 
of  these  noblemen,  as  Mary  of  Lorraine  and  her 
brothers  declared,  the  success  of  the  Protestant  cause 
was  due  in  greater  measure  than  to  any  other  person 
in  the  country ;  ^  and  had  either  or  both  of  them 
at  any  period  of  the  struggle  gone  over  to  the  enemy, 
it  would  have  carried  greater  consequences  than  if 
Knox  had  never  left  Geneva.  Yet  it  remains  true 
that  alike  by  the  part  he  played  and  his  absolute  self- 
devotion  to  the  issues  at  stake,  Knox  remains  the 
most  representative  figure  of  the  struggle  with  which 
he  is  identified. 

It  was  on  the  2nd  of  May  1559,^  as  we  have  seen, 

1  Cf.  Forbes,  State  Papers,  i.  152,  307,  319.  The  Regent  is 
reported  as  saying  that  "  she  marveled  of  the  stififeness  of  the  lords  of 
the  congregacion,  bothe  in  speciall  of  my  Lord  James,  who  never  did 
take  rest  to  wyrke  in  her  contrar,  though  uthers  toke  summe  repose." — 
Sadler,  State  Papers,  John  Wood  to  Thomas  Randolph,  30th  November 
1559.  2    Works,  i.  318;  V.  21. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 


that  Knox  arrived  in  Edinburgh  from  Dieppe  ;  and  in 
the  midst  of  the  troubles  which  now  beset  her,  the 
appearance  of  such  an  adversary  could  not  be  agree- 
able to  the  Regent.  She  was  at  Glasgow  at  the 
moment  of  his  coming ;  but  she  was  informed  post- 
haste of  such  an  important  event/  During  his 
absence  on  the  Continent,  as  will  be  remembered, 
Knox  had  been  subjected  to  the  censure  of  the 
Church,  and  burnt  in  effigy  in  the  streets  of  Edin- 
burgh. But  this  censure  had  apparently  implied 
civil  outlawry,  for  the  third  day  after  he  set  foot  in 
the  country  Knox  was  "  blowne  loud  to  the  home  "  by 
the  Regent's  special  order.-  As  she  was  still  mistress 
of  Edinburgh,  that  city  could  not  be  a  safe  place  for 
Knox ;  and  after  a  stay  of  two  nights,  during  which 
he  found  time  to  write  a  hasty  note  to  Mrs.  Locke, ^  he 
passed  to  Dundee.  In  Dundee  he  found  the  Protes- 
tants the  masters  of  the  situation,  and  ready  for  the 
boldest  measures.  At  the  moment  when  Knox  came 
among  them  their  feelings  were  wound  to  the  highest 
pitch  by  the  Regent's  summons  of  their  preachers  to 
appear  at  Stirling  on  the  loth  of  May  ;  and  to  decide 
on  some  course  of  action  a  great  gathering  of  Pro- 
testants had  met  in  the  town.  The  decision  taken 
was    that    every    man    of    them    should    attend   their 

1  "  A  Historic  of  the  Estate  of  Scotland,"  Wodroiv  Miscellany^  i.  57. 
The  author  of  this  History  is  unknown.  In  the  later  editions  of  his 
Life  of  Knox,  Dr.  M'Crie  had  the  use  of  it  in  a  MS.  lent  him  by 
Thomas  Thomson,  editor  of  the  Acts  of  Ike  Parliamejtt  of  Scotland.  It 
has  since  been  published  in  the  first  volume  of  the  IVodrow  Miscellany. 
Whoever  the  author  may  have  been,  he  writes  as  a  contemporary,  or 
from  information  supplied  by  a  contemporary,  and  records  many  inte- 
teresting  circumstances  not  to  be  found  elsewhere.  What  inspires 
confidence  in  him  is  that  certain  of  his  facts  not  recorded  by  other 
contemporary  Scottish  historians  are  corroborated  by  the  despatches 
of  D'Oysel  and  others,  in  Teulet. 

2  Ibid.  p.  57.  ^    Works.,  vi.  21. 


THE    WAR  OF  THE  CONGREGATION  5 

preachers  to  Perth,  and  there,  in  conjunction  with 
their  brethren  from  other  parts  of  the  country,  make 
pubHc  profession  of  their  faith. ^  Perth  was  already 
favourably  disposed  to  the  new  opinions ;  and  it  was 
moreover  a  convenient  centre  for  the  districts  where 
these  opinions  were  most  widely  spread. 

Throughout  their  struggle  with  the  Regent  the 
Protestants  had  been  solicitous  to  give  their  actions 
the  form  of  law.  Had  the  multitude  now  assembled 
at  Perth  appeared  before  the  Regent  at  Stirling, 
it  would  have  had  the  semblance  of  open  rebellion, 
and,  to  elude  this  charge  and  yet  not  to  forgo  the 
object  of  their  meeting,  Erskine  of  Dun  was  sent 
forward  to  lay  their  demands  before  the  Regent.^  In 
view  of  the  forces  now  arrayed  against  her  she  had 
no  course  open  but  to  temporise  till  she  was  in  a 
position  to  take  stronger  measures.  By  the  order 
of  her  Council,  which  was  mainly  directed  by  French- 
men, Erskine  was  instructed  to  inform  the  leaders  of 
the  Congregation  that  the  summons  of  their  preachers 
was  postponed,^  and  that  there  was,  therefore,  no 
occasion  for  their  appearing  at  Stirling.  Erskine's 
letter  was  variously  received  by  the  Protestants,  some 
maintaining  that  the  object  of  their  meeting  was 
attained,  and  others  that  the  postponement  of  the  sum- 
mons was  a  mere  artifice.  The  Regent's  policy,  how- 
ever, gained  her  a  temporary  advantage.  The  march 
on  Stirling  was  stayed,  certain  of  the  Congregation 
dispersed  to  their  homes,  and  meanwhile  she  had  time 
to  draw  together  a  force  on  which  she  could  depend. 

During  the  next  two  months  Perth  plays  the  part 
in  the  revolution   which  was  subsequently  played  by 

1    JVor&s,  vi.  22.  2  /^/V/.  i.  317  ;  vi.  22  ;    Wodrow  Misc.  i.  57. 

•^    Works,  vi.  22,  23  ;  Buchanan,  p.  313. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 


the  town  of  Leith.  Besides  being  a  convenient  centre 
for  the  Protestants  of  Strathearn,  Angus,  and  the 
Mearns,  Perth  was  in  itself  one  of  the  most  important 
places  in  the  country.  It  was  the  only  walled  town 
in  Scotland,  it  had  easy  communication  with  the  sea, 
and  its  position  in  the  heart  of  the  kingdom  brought 
a  natural  advantage  to  the  party  that  held  it.^  As  the 
Protestants  had  little  faith  in  the  promises  of  the  Regent, 
there  was  good  reason  why  they  should  stand  by  each 
other  in  Perth  when  trouble  seemed  still  ahead.  Thus 
at  the  very  outset  Knox  found  work  to  his  hand  which 
gave  full  scope  to  all  his  enthusiasm  and  experience. 

The  Protestants  speedily  learned  that  the  Regent 
had  no  thought  of  departing  from  her  late  attitude 
of  hostility.  In  her  understanding  with  Erskine  of 
Dun  she  had  publicly  cancelled  the  summons  of  the 
preachers  for  the  loth  of  May  ;  yet  she  proclaimed 
them  as  outlaws  when  they  did  not  make  their  appear- 
ance. This  breach  of  faith  on  the  Regent's  part  was 
the  occasion  of  the  contest  that  was  about  to  rend 
the  country  for  the  next  twelve  months.  When 
Erskine  reported  to  the  Congregation  at  Perth  this 
treatment  of  their  preachers,  it  hardly  needed  the 
eloquence  of  Knox  to  hurry  them  into  an  act  of 
defiance.  In  a  series  of  sermons  he  had  denounced 
the  idolatries  of  the  Roman  Church,  and  pointed  out 
the  duty  of  Christian  men  in  regard  to  them.^  On 
the  day  following  the  outlawry  of  the  preachers  he 
had  spoken  on  the  same  theme,  doubtless  with  all 
the  greater  fervour  in  consequence  of  the  news  that 
had   come   from   Stirling.^      It  was   certainly  by   due 

1  Buchanan,  p.  315.  ^    Works,  i.  320. 

3  Ibid.  p.  319.       It  was  in  the  parish  church,  known  as  the  Kirk 
of  the  Holy  Cross  of  St.  John  the  Baptist,  that  Knox  preached. 


777^    IVAJ?  OF  THE  CONGREGATION  7 

forms  of  law  that  Knox  would  have  wished  to  pro- 
ceed against  the  Established  Church,^  yet,  except 
so  far  as  they  compromised  the  cause  he  had  at 
heart,  the  events  that  followed  had  his  cordial 
approval.  When  the  sermon  was  over,  and  the 
majority  of  his  hearers  had  left  the  church,  an  indis- 
creet priest  gave  the  occasion  that  was  needed  for  a 
significant  commentary  on  the  preacher's  exhortations. 
Proceeding  to  the  altar,  he  prepared,  with  a  curious 
fatuity  under  the  circumstances,  to  celebrate  mass  ; 
and,  a  forward  boy  commenting  on  his  action,  he 
struck  him  a  blow  on  the  ear.  It  would  seem  that 
the  youth  in  coming  to  the  church  must  have  had 
some  notion  of  possible  mischief,  since  he  at  once 
retaliated  by  throwing  a  stone,  which  missed  the  priest 
and  broke  an  imagfe.  This  was  all  that  was  needed 
to  let  loose  the  feelings  of  the  onlookers.  In  a 
moment  the  church  was  in  an  uproar,  and  as  fast  as 
their  hands  could  do  the  work,  the  late  listeners  of 
Knox  made  away  with  every  object  which  they  re- 
garded as  suggestive  of  idolatry.  Meanwhile,  the  news 
of  these  doings  ran  through  the  town,  and  the  men  in 
the  street  took  matters  into  their  own  hands."  In 
Perth  there  had  been  a  long-standing  feud  between 
the  citizens  and  the  clergy,  and  one  deed  of  violence 
against  the  Blackfriars  had  been  done  as  early  as  1543.^ 

1  On  the  question  of  the  destruction  of  images  Calvin  gives  this 
judgment.  "Car  Dieu  n'a  jamais  commande  d'abattre  les  idoles,  sinon 
k  chacun  en  sa  maison  et  en  pubhc  h.  ceux  qu'il  arme  d'autoritd." — 
Lettres  frangaises,  tome  ii.  p.  416. 

2  iVorks,  i.  322;  Buchanan,  p.  313. 

3  T/te  Blackfriars  of  Perth :  The  Chartulary  and  Papers  of  their 
House,  edited  with  Introduction  by  Robert  Milne,  D.D.,  West  Kirk, 
Perth  (Edinburgh,  1893).  The  deed  of  violence  referred  to  is  thus 
described  in  one  of  the  documents  printed  by  'Dr.  Milne.  "  Certain 
persons  named  came  to  thair  [the  Blackfriars']  said  place,  and  strack 
up  thair  fore  yett,  and  brak  the  lokkis  and  bandis  of  the  samyn,  and 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 


Moreover,  there  was  hardly  a  part  of  the  country  which 
was  not  more  or  less  familiar  with  acts  of  violence  against 
the  sacred  places  of  the  ancient  faith.  As  we  have 
seen,  it  had,  years  before,  been  necessary  to  pass  Acts 
of  Parliament  to  prevent  spoliation  of  churches  and  the 
destruction  of  their  ornaments  ;  and  in  the  neighbour- 
ing town  of  Dundee  there  had  been  several  precedents 
for  these  outrages  with  which  the  men  of  Perth  must 
have  been  perfectly  familiar.  In  almost  every  country 
where  Protestantism  had  appeared — in  England,  in 
France,  in  Switzerland,  in  Holland — the  same  frenzy 
of  destruction  regularly  appeared  among  the  lower 
sections  of  the  populace.^  In  these  blind  outbursts 
there  was  no  expression  of  real  religious  feeling  ;  it 
was  simply  the  instinct  of  plunder,  the  natural  delight 
in  unlicensed  action  which  in  ordinary  times  is  kept 
in  check  by  the  steady  pressure  of  law.  It  was  under 
such  an  impulse  that  the  Perth  mob  now  rushed  to 
the  work  of  plunder  and  destruction.  It  took  them 
two  days  to  do  their  business ;  but  they  did  it 
effectually.  Of  the  three  places  attacked  —  the 
monasteries  of  the  Franciscans  and  Dominicans  and 
the  Charterhouse  Abbey  —  only  the  walls  were  left 
standing.-      Thus  had  the  Beggars'   Summons  found 

sicklyk  brak  up  the  durris  of  the  throwgang,  on  the  north  syde  of  the 
said  clowster,  and  tuke  away  with  thame  the  lokkis  of  the  said  durris 
and  brak  up  the  grater  durre,  and  tuke  away  out  of  it  chandellaris  and 
glassis,  and  brak  thair  kochin  durre,  and  tuke  off  the  fire  the  kittill 
with  thair  mete,  and  cariet  about  the  toune,  and  yet  withhaldis  the 
kettill  and  pewdir  desheis,"  etc. — pp.  229,  230. 

1  The  following  story,  told  in  connection  with  the  first  of  the 
Condes,  curiously  illustrates  the  spirit  of  the  genuine  iconoclast,  who  did 
his  work  not  in  blind  frenzy,  but  from  deliberate  conviction.  Threaten- 
ing to  shoot  a  young  man  engaged  in  breaking  images,  he  received  this 
answer  :  "  Monseigneur,  ayez  patience  que  j'aie  abattu  cette  idole,  et 
puis  que  je  meure,  s'il  vous  plait." — -Bulletin  de  la  Societe  du  Pro- 
testantisine  frajigais,  tome  xiv.  p.  130. 

2  Works,  i.  322,  323  ;  vi.  23  ;  Leslie,  p.  272. 


THE    WAR  OF  THE  CONGREGATION  9 

a  terrible  realisation  in  one  important  town  in  the 
country.  In  that  manifesto  the  ministers  of  the 
ancient  religion  had  been  allowed  till  the  15th  of  May 
to  renounce  their  possessions  or  abide  the  consequence. 
It  wanted  but  four  days  till  the  expiry  of  their 
promised  respite  when  Perth  led  the  way  in  putting 
the  threat  into  execution. 

After  these  doings  in  Perth  the  Regent  had  but 
two  courses  open  to  her.  She  must  either  crush 
Protestantism  once  and  for  ever,  or  cease  to  govern 
the  country  in  the  interest  of  France.  It  was  now 
clear  that  the  Protestants  would  be  satisfied  with 
nothing  short  of  the  ruin  of  the  old  religion.  Com- 
promises might  be  made,  of  longer  or  shorter  duration  ; 
but  the  real  issue  must  sooner  or  later  be  faced ;  and 
for  the  Regent  the  outrages  at  Perth  had  created  the 
best  of  opportunities.  That  after  such  doings  she  did 
not  carry  the  country  with  her  is  signal  proof  how 
widespread  was  the  discontent  her  government  had 
produced.  She  had  now  on  her  side  the  whole 
weight  of  the  clergy,  for  thenceforward  Archbishop 
Hamilton  gave  her  his  steady  support  even  after  his 
brother  the  Duke  had  joined  the  Congregation.  At 
this  moment,  also,  the  whole  body  of  the  nobility  were 
nominally  with  her,  since  as  yet  the  Protestant  Lords 
had  not  declared  themselves  for  the  insurgent  party. 
From  the  measures  she  now  took  it  would  appear 
that  she  realised  that  the  crisis  in  her  affairs  had  come. 
She  had  always  her  French  troops  on  whom  she  could 
count  in  emergencies  ;  but  she  now  issued  orders  to 
Clydesdale,  Stirlingshire,  and  the  Lothians,  to  provide 
a  force  to  meet  her  at  Stirling  on  the  25th  of  May.^ 

Meanwhile  the  Protestants  at  Perth  had  not  been 

1    Wo  draw  Misc.  i.  58. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 


idle.  After  their  dealings  with  the  monasteries  many 
of  them,  apparently  thinking  that  their  work  in  that 
town  was  at  an  end,  had  gone  to  their  homes  ;  but  on 
the  news  of  the  Regent's  intentions  they  had  returned 
to  take  their  stand  by  their  brethren.  It  was  at  such 
a  juncture  that  Knox  displayed  the  plenitude  of  his 
powers.  He  had  not  been  of  those  who  had  left  the 
town,  as  it  had  been  specially  laid  upon  him  to 
instruct  the  citizens,  who  as  recent  converts  "war 
young  and  rude  in  Christ " ;  ^  and  now  in  the  face  of 
the  threatened  danger  he  was  called  to  less  apostolic 
duties.  It  was  the  tactic  of  the  Regent  all  through 
the  coming  struggle  to  create  the  impression  both  in 
Scotland  and  abroad  that  the  Protestants  made  religion 
a  cloak  for  the  overthrow  of  her  authority.  At  this 
stage  of  their  proceedings  such  a  report  at  once 
compromised  the  cause  of  the  Protestants,  and  kept 
the  timid  from  supporting  a  cause  which  in  their  hearts 
they  approved.  To  counteract  the  effect  of  the 
Regent's  representations,  three  manifestoes,  all  un- 
doubtedly inspired  or  written  by  Knox,  were  addressed 
respectively  to  the  Regent  herself,  to  D'Oysel  and  the 
French  soldiery,^  and  to  the  whole  body  of  the  Scottish 
nobility.^  The  burden  of  the  first  two  was  virtually 
to  the  same  effect.  The  Protestants  were  the  most 
loyal  subjects  in  the  country  ;  but  liberty  of  worship 
was  what  they  were  now  bent  on  maintaining,  even  at 
the  point  of  the  sword.  It  is  even  implied  by  a 
dexterous  innuendo  that  the  Regent  in  denying  this 
privilege  was  acting  on  her  own  responsibility,  and 
was  not  consulting  the  wishes  of  their  king  and  queen. 

1    Works,  i.  324. 

2  Some  of  the  French  soldiery  seem  to  have  been  Huguenots. 

3    Works,  i.  "^ib  et  seq. 


THE   WAR  OF  THE  CONGREGATION  ii 

In  his  appeal  to  the  nobihty  Knox  had  two  classes  to 
consider — the  few  who  had  already  declared  them- 
selves for  the  new  opinions,  and  the  majority  who 
still  adhered  to  the  existing  Church.  As  we  shall 
see,  the  former  class  was  speedily  to  take  the  course 
to  which  their  new  faith  of  necessity  led  them,  while 
the  latter  only  waited  the  issue  of  events  to  choose  the 
side  which  promised  greatest  advantage  to  themselves. 
In  a  fourth  manifesto,  addressed  to  the  clergy,  the 
writer  made  it  clear  that  between  them  and  his  fellow- 
believers  there  could  be  now  only  war  to  the  knife. 
Charging  them  with  their  cruelties  in  the  past,  and 
with  being  at  present  the  chief  abettors  of  the  Regent, 
he  gave  them  the  alternative  of  changing  their  lives 
and  ceasing  from  persecution,  or  abiding  the  conse- 
quence. "Yea,"  he  concludes,  "we  shall  begyn  that 
same  warre  whiche  God  commanded  Israeli  to  execut 
aganis  the  Cananites,  that  is,  contract  of  peace  shall 
never  be  maid  till  ye  desist  from  your  oppin  idolatrie 
and  crewell  persecution  of  Godis  children."^  While 
they  thus  put  before  the  world  their  aims  and  motives, 
the  Protestants  took  more  practical  measures  to  make 
good  their  position.  They  added  to  the  defences  of 
the  town,  which,  as  has  been  said,  was  the  only  one 
in  Scotland  fortified  with  walls,  and  they  sent  an 
urgent  appeal  for  help  to  the  Protestants  of  Ayrshire.^ 
With  a  force  of  about  8000  French  and  Scots, 
D'Oysel  marched  on  Perth,  encamping  at  Auchterarder 
by  the  way.^  Still  the  insurgents  made  no  sign  of 
abandoning  their  position.  Though  greatly  incensed 
by  the  late  disorders,  the  Regent  must  have  been  well 
aware  that  she  was  not  in  a  position  to  risk  a  civil  war  ; 
and  to  effect  an  understanding  if  possible,  she  despatched 

1    Works,  i.  336.  -  Ibid.  pp.  325,  335.  ■'  Ibid.  p.  341. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 


three  lords,  Argyle,  the  Lord  James,  and  Lord  Sempill, 
to  ascertain  the  demands  of  the  Congregation.  They 
were  told  what  they  must  have  known  before  without 
the  form  of  an  interview.  The  end  of  all  the  business 
in  Perth  was  not  sedition,  but  simply  freedom  to  wor- 
ship God  according  to  conscience.  If  the  Regent 
would  but  leave  unmolested  such  as  had  embraced 
the  new  faith,  they  were  willing  to  give  up  the  town 
at  her  discretion.  As  Protestants  themselves,  Argyle 
and  the  Lord  James  could  not  gainsay  the  reasonable- 
ness of  this  offer,  and  they  undertook  to  give  a  faithful 
report  of  their  interview  to  the  Regent.  But  before 
they  went,  Knox  in  a  private  meeting  with  all  the 
three  noblemen  gave  them  a  message,  which  he 
besought  them  to  carry  to  her.  First,  they  were  to 
tell  her  from  him,  John  Knox,  that  the  religion  she 
professed  was  "a  superstitioun  devised  be  the  brane 
of  man,"  a  fact  he  was  prepared  to  make  good  against 
any  man  in  Scotland,  if  freedom  of  speech  were  allowed 
to  him.  Secondly,  her  present  policy  was  bound  to 
fail,  because  she  was  fighting  not  against  weak  man, 
but  against  the  eternal  will  of  God.  To  make  their 
message  somewhat  more  tolerable,  they  were  told  to 
add  that  the  sender  was  a  better  friend  to  her  Grace 
than  the  flattering  advisers  who  were  urging  her  on 
her  present  evil  course.^ 

To  accept  the  condition  proposed  by  the  Congre- 
gation would  have  implied  the  ignoring  of  all  the  late 
offences,  and  encouraged  still  bolder  defiance  of  her 
authority.  The  Regent's  reply,  therefore,  was  a  pro- 
clamation  in    Perth   by  the  Lyon  King-of-arms,  that 

1  Works,  i.  338,  339.  Knox's  message  was  actually  delivered  to 
the  Regent  by  Lord  Sempill,  "  a  man,"  according  to  Knox,  "  sold  under 
syne,  enymye  to  God  and  all  godlynes." 


THE   WAR  OF  THE  CONGREGATION  13 

all  men  should  "  avoid  the  toune  under  the  pane  of 
treasone."^  But  the  relative  position  of  the  two 
parties  was  suddenly  changed.  The  Protestants  in 
Ayrshire  had  enthusiastically  responded  to  the  appeal 
of  their  brethren  in  Perth  ;  and  under  the  Earl  of 
Glencairn  and  other  leaders  a  body  of  some  2500 
men,  by  forced  marches  and  in  the  teeth  of  all 
obstacles,  had  made  their  way  to  within  six  miles  of 
the  town.2  Though  the  arrival  of  these  reinforce- 
ments was  unknown  in  Perth,^  their  coming  had  a 
decisive  influence  on  the  Regent's  measures.  At  her 
own  request,  representative  men  were  sent  from  Perth 
to  Auchterarder  to  arrange  with  D'Oysel  the  terms  of 
a  composition.  After  some  finessing,  the  proximity  of 
Glencairn,  though  apparently  still  unknown  to  the 
representatives  of  the  Protestants,  forced  D'Oysel  to 
concede  the  original  demands  which  the  Regent  had 
refused  to  entertain.  The  town  was  to  be  surrendered 
on  the  double  condition  that  the  Protestants  should 
be  allowed  perfect  freedom  of  worship,  and  that  no 
French  garrison  should  be  quartered  on  the  citizens.* 
These  terms  being  accepted  by  both  parties,  the  Pro- 
testants were  to  quit  Perth  with  a  free  bill  for  all  their 
doings  of  the  preceding  weeks. 

In  the  final  arrangement  of  this  treaty  at  Perth  all 
the  leading  actors  in  the  Scottish  Reformation  were 
brought  together  for  the  first  time.  Argyle  and  the 
Lord  James  were  there  as  the  representatives  of  the 
Regent.  Glencairn  had  also  arrived,  and  with  him 
John  Willock,  second  only  to  Knox  among  the 
reformed    preachers.       Lords    Boyd    and    Ochiltree, 

■    1    Works^  i.  340.  2  Ibid.  J    Wodrow  Misc.  i.  58. 

3    Works,  i.  342. 
^  Ibid.  p.  342  ;  vi.  24  ;    Wodrow  Misc.  i.  58  ;  Buchanan,  p.  314. 


14  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

Erskine  of  Dun,  and  almost  every  Scottish  gentleman 
who  had  embraced  the  new  opinions,  had  been  brought 
to  the  same  place  in  this  crisis  of  their  faith.  Such  an 
opportunity  of  a  mutual  understanding  was  not  to  be 
lost ;  for  all  knew  that  the  agreement  lately  made  was 
a  mere  temporary  compromise  forced  on  both  parties 
by  the  exigencies  of  the  moment.  In  an  interview 
with  Argyle  and  the  Lord  James,  Knox  and  Willock 
upbraided  them  with  their  desertion  of  their  brethren 
in  their  hour  of  trial,  and  called  upon  them  to  give 
better  proof  of  their  faith  in  the  future.  As  their 
subsequent  career  showed,  both  of  these  nobles  were 
men  with  minds  of  their  own,  and  had  doubtless 
already  decided  on  the  course  they  meant  to  follow. 
The  decision  they  now  took  was  one  that  purely  selfish 
considerations  could  not  have  prompted,  and  which  they 
thenceforth  followed  with  a  consistent  fidelity  which  is 
the  best  proof  that  higher  motives  determined  them.^ 
Should  the  Regent,  they  told  the  two  ministers, 
depart  one  jot  from  the  treaty  of  Perth,  they  were 
determined  to  take  their  stand  once  for  all  by  the  side 
of  their  brethren.^  As  Knox  was  absolutely  certain 
that  the  Regent  would  not  abide  by  that  compact,  this 
was  all  that  he  could  wish  in  the  interests  of  the 
Congregation.  But  before  they  left  the  town  the 
Protestants  came  to  a  more  definite  understanding  as 
to  their  future  conduct.  By  the  agreement  with  the 
Regent  their  departure  was  fixed  for  the  29th  of  May, 
the  day  after  the  conclusion  of  the  treaty.  A  few 
hours  before  their  going  Knox  addressed  the  assembled 
Congregation  on  their  present  situation  and  prospects, 
warning  them,  that  the  late  arrangement  could  only  be 

1  Argyle,  as  has  been  said,  was  subsequently  led  to  leave  the  party 
of  Knox  for  a  time.  ^    Works,  i.  343. 


THE   WAR  OF  THE  CONGREGATION  15 

of  short  duration,  and  that  the  success  of  their  cause 
must  eventually  depend  on  their  own  zeal  and  con- 
stancy.^ With  these  adjurations  ringing  in  their  ears 
the  Protestants  left  the  town  for  their  respective  homes  ; 
and  the  same  day  their  leaders,  who  still  remained 
behind,  took  a  step  which  implied  all  that  was  soon 
to  follow.  As  the  representatives  of  the  Congregation 
they  signed  a  bond  of  mutual  defence,  pledging  them- 
selves "  at  thair  haill  poweris  to  distroy,  and  away 
put  all  thingis  that  dois  dishonour  to  his  name,  so 
that  God  maybe  trewlie  and  puirelie  wirschipped."^ 
When  an  important  section  of  the  nation  had  conceived 
a  plan  of  action  that  virtually  meant  a  revolution,  it 
only  remained  to  be  tried  whether  their  strength  was 
equal  to  their  desires. 

The  Regent,  attended  by  Chatelherault  and 
D'Oysel,  entered  Perth  on  the  29th  of  May,  and 
immediately  gave  the  occasion  for  a  fresh  breach  with 
her  Protestant  subjects.^  According  to  the  late  agree- 
ment she  was  to  quarter  no  French  troops  in  the  town. 
She  obeyed  the  letter  of  this  condition,  but  evaded  its 
spirit  by  quartering  Scottish  soldiers  in  the  pay  of 
France.  By  restoring  the  old  religion,  also,  and  by 
her  harsh  treatment  of  all  who  had  Protestant  leanings, 
she  gave  deep  offence  to  the  Lords  of  the  Congre- 
gation who  still  remained  in  the  town.  Without 
signifying  their  intention  these  lords  suddenly  departed, 

^    Works,  i.  343,  344.  2  Ibid.  p.  344. 

3  The  report  of  the  Regent's  repeated  breaches  of  faith  reached  the 
Continent.  Constable  Montmorency,  when  sending  Sir  James  Melville  on 
his  mission  to  Scotland  in  1559,  said  among  other  things  :  "  I  have  also 
intelligence  that  the  Queen  Regent  has  not  kepit  all  thingis  promysed 
unto  them  [the  Congregation]  "  (Melville,  Memoirs,  p.  79).  Knox  ex- 
presses great  indignation  at  this  craft  of  the  Regent ;  but  we  shall  find  him 
suggesting  a  precisely  similar  subterfuge  to  the  English  in  favour  of  his  own 
party.     Regarding  the  Regent's  breaches  of  faith  see  above,  i.  345,  note. 


1 6  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

in  a  manner  which  the  Regent  regarded  as  an  open 
act  of  defiance.  When  ordered  to  return  under  pain 
of  her  displeasure,  they  refused  on  the  plea  that  they 
could  not  approve  the  courses  she  had  now  seen  fit  to 
adopt.  Travelling  in  company,  Argyle  and  the  Lord 
James,  who  now  begin  to  stand  out  as  the  natural 
leaders  of  their  party,  made  for  St.  Andrews,  as  the 
place  which,  next  to  Perth,  was  their  best  centre  of 
action.  On  their  way  they  issued  a  summons  to  the 
Protestant  gentlemen  of  Angus  and  the  Mearns  to 
meet  them  in  that  town  on  the  3rd  of  June.^ 

By. the  terms  of  the  late  covenant  the  Protestants 
were  bound  to  regard  the  danger  of  one  of  their  number 
as  the  danger  of  all.  With  Knox  in  their  company, 
therefore,  the  gentlemen  who  had  been  summoned 
made  haste  to  keep  the  appointed  day  at  St.  Andrews. 
In  Fife,  as  will  be  seen,  the  new  opinions  must  have 
been  widely  spread,  both  in  the  towns  and  in  the 
country,  and  Knox  preached  by  the  way  at  Crail  and 
Anstruther.-  But  it  lay  specially  near  his  heart  to 
bear  his  testimony  in  the  stronghold  where  the  enemy 
should  have  been  most  powerful — the  archiepiscopal 
city  of  St.  Andrews.  It  was  here  that  he  had  been 
called  to  be  a  preacher  of  the  Gospel  in  circumstances 
which  had  determined  the  last  eleven  years  of  his  life ; 
and  here  he  had  seen  Satan  complete  a  triumph  that  had 
seemed  to  foreclose  all  hope  that  the  truth  should  ever 
again  be  heard  within  the  bounds  of  Scotland.  But 
there  was  another  reason  that  quickened  his  desire  to 
lift  up  his  voice  in  a  place  of  such  mingled  memories. 
Long  ago,  as  has  been  told,  when  toiling  half-dead  at 
his  oar  in  the  galley,  he  had  beheld  the  cathedral  spire 
of  St.  Andrews  in  the  distance,  and  solemnly  assured 

1    Works,  i.  347-  -  Ibid. 


THE    WAR  OF  THE  CONGREGATION  17 

his  companions  that,  unHkely  as  it  seemed,  he  should 
one  day  glorify  God  in  that  town.  As  is  proved  by 
other  instances,  Knox  showed  a  manifest  desire  to  be 
thought  to  be  in  the  secrets  of  Providence.  It  was 
not  likely,  therefore,  that  he  would  forgo  the  present 
opportunity  of  making  good  his  claim,  though  prudence 
might  have  suggested  a  safer  means  of  proceeding. 

As  at  Perth,  it  is  Knox  again  who  is  the  central 
figure,  and  whose  words  lay  the  train  for  the  events 
that  follow.  St.  Andrews,  it  would  appear,  was  not 
so  wholly  given  to  the  new  religion  as  the  former  city. 
Reckoning  on  substantial  support,  therefore,  Arch- 
bishop Hamilton,  well  knowing  the  result  should 
Knox's  voice  be  heard,  came  to  the  town  on  Saturday 
(3rd  June^)  with  a  following  of  a  hundred  spears. 
Arrived  in  the  town,  he  sent  the  terrible  threat  that 
if  Knox  dared  to  preach  in  his  church  he  should  be 
saluted  "with  a  dosane  of  culveringis,  quherof  the 
most  parte  should  lyght  upoun  his  nose."^  At  this 
moment,  it  should  be  said,  the  Regent  was  lying  with 
her  forces  at  Falkland,  about  twelve  miles  off.  The 
threat  of  the  Archbishop,  therefore,  was  more  than  a 
mere  bravado,  and  the  friends  of  Knox  fully  realised 
the  fact.  When  they  sought  to  dissuade  him  from  his 
intention,  however,  he  put  them  aside,  affirming  that 
God  had  created  the  occasion,  and  that  as  God's 
minister  he  could  not  neglect  it.  The  next  day  the 
Archbishop  thought  better  of  the  matter  of  the  cul- 
verins,  and  Knox  was  allowed  to  go  through  with  his 
sermon  without  interruption.  His  subject  was  the 
ejection  of  the  buyers  and  sellers  from  the  TemjDle. 
and  its  practical  application  the  duty  of  similar 
drastic  dealings  with  the  churches  in  their  midst.     The 

1    Works,  i.  347  note.  -  Ibid.  p.  348. 

VOL.   II  2 


1 8  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

effect  of  the  sermon  was  the  same  as  at  Perth, 
though  the  work  seems  to  have  been  done  in  calmer 
and  more  deliberate  fashion,^  By  the  express  wish  of 
the  magistrates  and  the  majority  of  the  town  every 
church  was  stripped  of  its  obnoxious  furnishings ;  and 
thenceforward  St.  Andrews  remained  one  of  the  most 
important  strongholds  of  the  new  religion. 

In  what  followed  these  events  at  St.  Andrews  we 
have  but  the  repetition  of  what  had  lately  taken  place 
at  Perth.  Confident  in  the  strength  of  her  forces,  and 
urged  on  by  the  indignant  Archbishop,  the  Regent 
gave  orders  for  a  march  from  Falkland  on  St. 
Andrews.  The  line  of  march  was  to  be  by  way  of 
Cupar,  a  town  which  had  given  unmistakable  proof 
of  Protestant  leanings.  Though  they  had  little  over 
lOO  horse,  Argyle  and  the  Lord  James  decided  to 
anticipate  the  Regent's  commanders  by  occupying 
Cupar.  Arrived  in  that  town,  they  were  speedily 
joined  by  detachments  from  Lothian  and  Fife,  which 
raised  their  number  to  over  3000  men ;  and  on  the 
morning  of  the  13th  of  June  they  took  up  their  posi- 
tion on  Cupar  Muir,  on  the  side  of  the  town  nearest 
Falkland.  When  they  heard  of  the  formidable  force 
that  blocked  the  way,  D'Oysel  and  Chatelherault,  who 
led  the  Regent's  army,  saw  that  their  intended  march 
had  become  an  impossibility.  Their  numbers  were 
now  inferior  to  those  of  the  enemy,  and  many  of  their 

1  Professor  Mitchell  drew  my  attention  to  an  error  into  which  certain 
writers  have  fallen  in  connection  with  this  sermon  of  Knox.  There  is 
no  evidence  to  prove  that  the  fabric  of  the  cathedral  of  St.  Andrews  was 
materially  injured  either  on  this  occasion  or  in  1560,  when  the  Privy 
Council  passed  an  order  for  the  purging  of  the  churches.  "  It  is  ad- 
mitted," adds  Professor  Mitchell,  "  that  the  Franciscan  and  Dominican 
monasteries  were  pretty  thoroughly  demolished  in  1559;  but  it  is  known 
that  the  buildings  of  the  Abbey  or  Priory  were  spared,  and  that  it  was 
in  the  Novum  Hospitium  of  the  Priory  that  Knox  and  his  family  lodged 
during  their  long  visit  to  St.  Andrews  in  1571-72." 


THE   WAR  OF  THE  CONGREGATION  19 


own  troops  were  not  to  be  trusted  in  the  event  of  an 
actual  engagement.  "  We  do  not  know  our  friends 
from  our  foes,"  wrote  D'Oysel,  "and  those  who  are 
with  us  in  the  morning  are  against  us  in  the  evening."  ^ 
In  this  state  of  affairs  it  was  their  only  course  to  patch 
up  another  arrangement  with  the  Protestants  till  events 
should  take  a  better  turn.  On  their  side  it  is  evident 
that  the  leaders  of  the  Congregation  had  the  utmost 
reluctance  to  draw  the  sword.  By  the  arrangement 
now  made,  however,  it  was  proved  that  their  deter- 
mined front  had  shown  the  Regent  that  she  was  in 
presence  of  a  rebellion  with  which  her  present  re- 
sources were  unequal  to  cope."  According  to  the 
new  compromise  there  was  to  be  a  truce  for  eight 
days  ;  the  Regent's  soldiers,  lately  brought  to  Fife, 
were  to  be  removed  from  that  county  ;  and  during  the 
period  of  truce  an  attempt  was  to  be  made  to  heal  the 
breach  between  the  Regent  and  her  subjects.^ 

Returning  to  St.  Andrews,  the  Protestant  leaders 
awaited  the  result  of  the  recent  agreement.  As  was 
inevitable  in  the  pass  to  which  things  had  now  come, 
neither  party  paid  much  regard  to  the  conditions  it 
imposed.  The  Protestants  proceeded  with  their  puri- 
fying of  the  churches,  dealing  among  others  with  the 
Abbey  of  Lindores  ;  ^  and  the  Regent  sought  only  to 
strengthen  her  hands,  and  made  no  further  overtures 
for  the  pacifying  of  the  troubles.  It  had,  in  truth, 
become  clear  to  both  parties  that  the  conflict  was  only 
begun,  and  that  it  must  lead  to  issues  beyond  what 

1  Teulet,  i.  311. 

-  Ibid.  (D'Oysel  to  De  Noailles,  14th  June),  i.  311. 

3    Works,  i.  353,  354. 

^  Ibid,  vi,  26.  According  to  Knox,  the  Regent  wished  to  make  it 
part  of  the  agreement  at  Cupar  that  no  attack  should  be  made  on 
churches  during  the  eight  days'  truce';  but  the  Protestant  Lords  refused 
to  accept  this  as  one  of  the  conditions. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 


they  had  dreamt  a  few  weeks  before.  Simultaneously 
both  looked  elsewhere  for  the  strength  which  they  did 
not  find  in  themselves.  The  day  after  the  compact  of 
Cupar  D'Oysel  wrote  to  the  French  ambassador  in 
London  that  only  a  body  of  troops  from  France  could 
restore  the  authority  of  his  mistress  in  Scotland.^ 
During  those  days  at  St.  Andrews,  also,  the  Congre- 
gation, acting  mainly  on  the  suggestion  of  Knox, 
made  its  first  appeal  to  England  for  assistance  against 
Mary  of  Lorraine.-  From  the  moment  the  Protes- 
tants decided  to  apply  to  Elizabeth  it  will  appear  that 
Knox  was  able  to  perform  services  for  which  his  years 
of  exile  had  specially  fitted  him.  At  this  point  it  is 
sufficient  to  say  that,  added  to  his  other  labours,  these 
services  taxed  him  far  beyond  what  his  strength  could 
now  bear.  Yet  in  the  thick  of  his  labours  at  St. 
Andrews  he  stole  an  hour  to  write  a  long  and  interest- 
ing letter  to  Mrs.  Locke,  in  which  he  recounts  all  that 
had  happened  in  Scotland  since  the  day  of  his  arrival, 
and  urges  her  to  hasten  the  coming  of  his  wife  and 
mother-in-law,  and  of  his  Genevan  colleague,  Goodman.^ 
The  truce  expired ;  and  things  were  precisely  where 
they  had  been  at  the  date  of  its  arrangement.  As  the 
experience  of  the  last  few  weeks  had  shown  them  their 
strength,  the  Congregation  determined  to  follow  up 
their  success.  The  Protestants  of  Perth  now  required 
the  assistance  of  their  more  fortunate  brethren,  as,  in 
defiance  of  the  late  treaty,  they  were  now  practically 
denied  all  freedom  of  worship.  By  their  mutual 
pledges  each  section  of  the  Congregation  was  bound 
to  assist  another  in  its  individual  troubles.  The  order 
was  given  by  the  Lords  at  St.  Andrews,  therefore, 
that  on  the  24th  of  June  the  Protestants  should  meet 

^  Teulet,  i.  311.  -    Works,  ii.  22.  s  /^/^_  yj_  21-27. 


THE   WAR  OF  THE  CONGREGATION 


at  Perth  for  the  relief  of  that  town  ;  ^  and  on  the  day 
appointed  they  sat  down  before  it  in  such  numbers 
that  those  who  commanded  for  the  Regent  had  no 
choice  but  unconditional  surrender.- 

Perth,  Dundee,  and  St.  Andrews  now  their  own,  it 
seemed  as  if  they  were  about  to  sweep  the  country 
before  them.  But  before  they  left  Perth  they  received 
one  more  warning  of  the  forces  they  had  let  loose,  and 
of  the  evil  report  that  must  go  forth  concerning  the 
courses  on  which  they  were  embarked.  During  the 
two  days  that  followed  the  surrender  of  Perth  the 
Abbey  and  Palace  of  the  neighbouring  village  of 
Scone  were  burnt  to  the  ground,  in  spite  of  the  special 
intervention  of  Argyle,  the  Lord  James,  and  Knox 
himself.  On  this  occasion  it  was  not  "  the  rascaille 
multitude  "  who  did  the  work,  but  those  Protestants  of 
Perth  and  Dundee  who  had  been  the  mainstay  of  the 
Congregation.^  On  the  day  following  the  destruction 
at  Scone  Knox  wrote  from  Perth  to  Cecil  as  follows  : 
"  The  common  bruit,  I  dowbt  not,  cariethe  unto  you 
the  troubles  that  be  laitly  heir  risen  for  the  contro- 
versie  in  religion.  The  treucht  is  that  many  of  the 
nobilitie,  the  most  part  of  barrons  and  gentilmen,  with 
many  touns  and  on[e]  cietie,  have  putt  to  thare  handes 
to  remove  Idolatrie  and  the  monuments  of  the  saim. 
The  Reformation  is  somewhat  violent,  becaus  the 
adversareis  be  stubburn  ;  non  that  professeth  Christ 
Jesus  userpeth  anything  against  authoritie  ;  neyther  yit 
intendest  \_sic\  to  usurpe,  onles  streangearis  be  brought 

1    Works,  i.  355.  -  Ibid.  i.  358,  359. 

^  Ibid.  i.  359-362.  For  obvious  reasons,  as  compromising  their 
whole  enterprise,  the  leaders  of  the  Congregation  were  indignant  at  the 
havoc  wrought  at  Scone.  "Wharat,"  says  Knox,  "  no  small  nomber  of 
us  war  offended,  that  patientlie  we  culd  nocht  speak  till  any  that  war  of 
Dundee  and  St.  Johnestoun." — Ibid.  p.  361. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 


in  to  subern  '\_sic\  and  bring  in  bondaige  the  liberteis  of 
this  poore  contrey.  If  any  such  thing  be  espied,  I  am 
uncertane  what  shall  follow."^  The  events  of  the 
next  few  weeks  were  effectually  to  remove  all  Knox's 
uncertainty. 

The  Protestants  had  now  gone  so  far  that  retreat 
must  have  involved  ruin.  Having  heard  that  the 
Regent  intended  to  stop  their  passage  southwards  at 
Stirling,  Argyle  and  the  Lord  James,  after  a  rapid 
night  march,  occupied  that  town,  apparently  with  the 
approval  of  the  majority  of  the  citizens.  It  would 
seem  that  they  were  now  assured  that  the  Regent 
was  no  longer  in  a  position  to  meet  them ;  for  quitting 
Stirling  they  marched  to  Edinburgh  by  way  of  Lin- 
lithgow, where  also  they  had  a  strong  following.^ 

The  Regent  had  prudently  not  awaited  their 
coming.  Once  in  the  hands  of  the  Protestant  Lords 
she  would  have  been  forced  to  make  concessions 
which  would  have  meant  the  virtual  abdication  of  her 
authority.  Attended  by  D'Oysel  and  Chatelherault, 
therefore,  she  had  retreated  to  Dunbar,  leaving  Edin- 
burgh at  the  disposal  of  the  Congregation.^  From 
their  doings  elsewhere  the  clergy  knew  what  they  had 
to  expect  when  the  Protestants  became  masters  of  the 
town,  and  they  prudently  sought  to  secure  the  most 
valuable  part  of  their  property.  But  the  mob  was  not 
to  be  defrauded  of  the  spoils  which  had  fallen  to  their 
fellows  elsewhere,  and  before  the  arrival  of  the  Con- 
gregation they  had  done  their  work  so  thoroughly 
that  not  even  the  doors  and  windows  remained  in  a 
single  church  in   the  town.*      In   Edinburgh,  as  was 

1  Works ^  vi.  32. 

2  Ibid.  i.  362  ;  Leslie,  p.  274.      Both  at  Stirling  and  Linlithgow  the 
churches  were  cleared  of  all  that  offended  Protestant  sensibilities. 

3  Works.,  i.  362.  4  Ibid.  p.  363  ;    Wodroxu  Misc.  i.  61,  62. 


THE    WAR  OF  THE  CONGREGATION  23 

afterwards  more  than  once  proved,  the  majority  of  the 
respectable  citizens  were  still  on  the  side  of  the  old 
religion,  but  the  flight  of  the  Regent  had  shown  them 
that  for  the  present  they  were  the  weaker  party. 

When  the  Protestants  entered  the  town  (29th 
July)  they  numbered  only  1000  horse  and  300 
foot.^  The  third  day  after  their  arrival,  however, 
they  were  joined  by  Glencairn  with  a  force  that 
swelled  their  numbers  to  6000.^  For  the  moment, 
therefore,  they  were  the  virtual  masters  of  the  country, 
yet  their  leaders  were  keenly  alive  to  the  fact  that 
their  situation  was  critical  in  the  highest  degree.  The 
conviction  was  widespread  that  they  were  aiming  at 
nothing  short  of  the  overthrow  of  the  existing  govern- 
ment, and  for  such  a  step  the  country  was  not  yet  pre- 
pared. From  the  nature  of  their  forces,  also,  they 
could  not  hold  together  beyond  a  few  weeks,  and  their 
dispersion  would  imply  the  restoration  of  the  Regent 
to  the  full  exercise  of  her  authority.  As  it  happens, 
we  have  materials  at  our  disposal  which  place  clearly 
before  us  how  the  crisis  was  viewed  from  Edinburgh 
and  Dunbar  respectively. 

On  the  day  he  entered  Edinburgh  with  the  Con- 
gregation Knox  had  preached  in  the  church  of  St. 
Giles.  Immediately  after  his  sermon  he  sat  down  to 
write  a  letter  to  Mrs.  Locke.  "  The  professors,"  he 
wrote,  "are  in  Edinburgh.  The  Queene  is  retired 
into  Dumbar.  The  fine^  is  known  unto  God.  We 
meane  no  tumult,  no  alteratioun  of  authoritie,  but 
onlie  the  reformatioun  of  religioun,  and  suppressing  of 
idolatrie."^  In  a  letter  to  Sir  Henry  Percy,  written  a 
few  days  later,  we  see  the  same  thought  uppermost  in 

1    Wodrow  Misc.  i.  61.  -    Works ^  vi.  35. 

3  End.  *    Works,  vi.  30. 


24  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

his  mind.  "  The  trubles  of  this  Realme,"  he  says,  "  ye 
hear,  but  the  cause  to  many  is  not  knowen.  Persuaid 
yourself,  and  assure  otheris  that  we  mean  neyther  sedi- 
tioun,  neyther  yit  rebelHon  against  any  just  and  lauch- 
ful  authoritie,  but  onHe  the  advauncement  of  Christes 
rehgion,  and  the  Hbertie  of  this  poore  Realme."^  On 
the  same  day  another  leader  of  the  Congregation,  Sir 
William  Kirkcaldy  of  Grange,  sent  a  communication 
to  Percy  which  is  of  singular  interest  for  the  light  it 
throws  on  the  policy  of  the  Protestants  till  this  period. 
"  Theis  salbe  to  certiffy  you  I  resavit  your  letter,"  he 
writes,  ''  this  last  of  Junii,  persavyng  thairby  the  dout 
and  suspitioun  ye  stand  into  for  the  commying  for- 
wardls  of  the  Congregatioun,  whome  I  assure  you  ye 
neid  not  to  have  in  suspitioun ;  for  they  meyne 
nothing  bot  reformatioun  of  religion,  quhillkis 
schortly  througheout  this  Realme  they  will  bring 
to  pas ;  for  the  Queue  and  Monsieur  Doisell  with 
all  the  Frenche  men  for  refuge  ar  retyrit  to  Dunbar. 
.  .  .  The  manour  of  thair  proceedyngis  in  Reforma- 
tioun is  this  :  They  pull  doune  all  maner  of  Freryes, 
and  Abbayes  which  willyngly  resavis  not  ther  refor- 
matioun. As  to  paroys  churchis  they  cleyns  them  of 
ymages  and  all  other  monumentis  of  ydolatrie,  and 
commandis  that  no  Messis  be  said  in  them  ;  in  place 
therof  the  Booke  sett  fourthe  be  godlye  Kyng  Edward 
is  red  in  the  same  churches.  They  have  never  as 
yet  medlit  with  a  pennywurthe  of  that  which  pertenis 
to  the  kyrk,  bot  presently  they  will  take  ordre 
throughowt  all  the  partis  whare  they  duell,  that  all 
the  fruttes  of  the  Abayes  and  uther  churches  salbe 
keipt  and  bestowet  upon  the  faythfull  Ministres  unto 
suche   tyme   as   ane    farther   ordre   be   tene.      Some 

1    Works ^  vi.  36. 


THE    WAR  OF  THE  CONGREGATION  25 

suposes  the  Ouene,  seyng  no  uther  remedy,  will 
follow  ther  desyres,  which  is  ane  generall  reforma- 
tioun  throughowt  the  hole  realme  to  be  maid  conforme 
to  the  pure  worde  of  God,  and  the  Frenche  men  to  be 
send  awaye.  Yf  hir  Grace  will  so  do,  they  will  obey 
and  serve  hir  and  anex  the  hole  revenus  of  the  Abayis 
to  the  Crowne  :  yf  hir  Grace  will  not  be  content  with 
this  they  are  determinet  to  heare  of  no  agreament."^ 

Of  all  the  Protestant  leaders  there  were  none  less 
given  to  subterfuge  or  less  influenced  by  selfish 
considerations  than  Kirkcaldy  and  Knox  ;  and  there 
can  hardly  be  any  doubt  that  in  disclaiming  any 
intentions  of  a  political  revolution  they  both  spoke 
in  perfect  good  faith.  Yet  the  enterprise  on  which 
they  were  engaged  inevitably  involved  all  that  was 
to  follow  during  the  ensuing  months.  To  have 
granted  the  demands  they  now  made,  Mary  of 
Lorraine  must  have  become  a  Protestant  herself,  and 
set  at  naught  all  her  traditions  as  a  Guise  and  a  re- 
presentative of  France.  But  we  have  the  means  of 
knowing  how  she  and  D'Oysel  understood  the  late 
proceedings  and  present  overtures  of  the  Congregation. 
In  a  letter  to  De  Noailles  written  from  Dunbar  on  the 
last  day  of  June,  D'Oysel  explains  to  him  the  state 
of  affairs  in  Scotland.  The  Protestants,  he  says,  are 
disturbed  at  the  general  impression  that  they  are 
aiming  at  the  overthrow  of  the  Regent's  authority. 
The  day  before  a  preacher^'  had  mounted  the  pulpit 
in  Edinburgh  with  the  express  purpose  of  disabusing 
the  minds  of  the  people  of  this  notion.  For  himself  he 
[D'Oysel]  is  convinced  that  religion  is  only  a  pretext, 
and  that  the  real  object  of  the  Protestant  Lords  is  the 

1    Works,  vi.  ^^^2^,  34. 
-   It  will  be  seen  below  that  this  preacher  was  Knox. 


26  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

setting  up  of  a  new  authority.  There  are  those  on 
the  watch,  however,  who  will  soon  discover  the  truth,^ 
and  should  it  turn  out  as  he  expects,  there  are 
important  persons  in  the  country  who  will  stand 
loyally  by  the  Crown.  As  for  the  new  religion, 
however,  he  adds  that  "assuredly  all  concur  in  it, 
high  and  low — that  is  to  say,  the  majority — so  that 
it  is  necessary  to  play  another  game  to  divert  them 
from  their  purposes.""  In  certain  instructions  sent 
to  France  by  the  Regent  herself  she  speaks  to  the 
same  effect  as  D'Oysel.  "  The  said  Protestants,"  she 
says,  "caused  their  doctor,  Knox,  to  preach  yesterday 
in  the  said  town  of  Edinburgh.  He  made  it  his 
chief  endeavour  to  excuse  and  exculpate  the  chief 
supporters  of  the  religion  from  aiming  at  the  Crown, 
and  from  entertaining  any  other  motive  except  the 
advancement  of  the  Gospel.  There  are  those  near 
them  who  will  learn  the  truth,  which  will  raise  up 
powerful  enemies  against  them.  On  the  other  hand, 
if  the  establishment  of  the  said  religion  is  their  only 
motive,  the  greater  part  of  the  kingdom  will  concur 
with  them."^ 

Every  day  now  told  in  favour  of  the  Regent. 
The  forces  of  the  Congregation,  which  could  not 
remain  in  arms  beyond  fifteen  or  twenty  days, 
gradually  melted  away,  and  by  their  third  week  in 
Edinburgh  they  numbered  only  about  1500  men.* 
As  there  was  constant   coming   and   going   between 

1  Knox  complains  bitterly  of  the  mischief  wrought  by  these  spies  in 
the  camp  of  the  Congregation. 

^  Teulet,  i.  318,  319.  In  this  letter  D'Oysel' says  that  the  Scots 
require  to  be  ruled  in  vh-ga  ferrea. 

3  Teulet,  p.  325.  Though  both  the  Regent  and  D'Oysel  assert  that 
the  Protestants  were  a  majority  in  the  country,  this  is  certainly  an 
exaggeration.  Their  statement  is  interesting,  however,  as  showing  how 
widespread  the  new  opinions  were.  *    Wodroiv  Misc.  i.  64. 


THE    WAR  OF  THE  CONGREGATION  27 

the  two  parties,  the  supporters  of  the  Regent  spread 
reports  which  further  weakened  their  cause.  The 
story  was  set  afloat  both  in  Scotland  and  in  France 
that  the  Lord  James,  with  the  consent  of  the  Pro- 
testants, was  aiming  at  the  Crown  for  himself,  to  the 
exclusion  both  of  the  Queen  and  the  Duke/  The 
story  was  admirably  fitted  to  serve  the  interests  of 
the  Regent,  since  it  kept  by  her  side  those  whose 
sympathies  with  Protestantism  were  not  strong  enough 
to  lead  them  astray  from  their  loyalty,  and  at  the 
same  time  secured  the  equivocal  allegiance  of  the 
Hamiltons.  Meanwhile,  however,  Knox  had  been 
appointed  minister  of  the  Tolbooth  in  Edinburgh,^ 
and,  as  we  have  seen,  did  his  best  to  put  heart  into 
his  hearers,  and  to  counteract  the  rumours  that  were 
undermining  the  cause.  The  news  of  the  fatal 
wound  of  Henry  II.  gave  a  temporary  encouragement 
to  the  Congregation,  which  led  them  to  a  step  of 
doubtful  prudence.^  On  the  plea  that  the  Regent 
had  debased  the  coinage  to  the  hurt  of  the  country, 
they  took  possession  of  the  mint,  and  staid  the  issue 
of  money  till  "further  ordour  mycht  be  tackin."  ^ 
But  this  act  only  gave  colour  to  the  suspicion  that 
their  real  aim  was  revolution,  and  still  further  com- 
promised the  success  of  their  cause. 

Meanwhile,  though  she  received  no  great  accession 

1  Cf.  Forbes,  State  Papers^  i.  180  (Throgmorton  to  Cecil,  27th 
July  1559).  Throgmorton  doubtless  had  his  information  from  some 
French  source.  But  the  eagerness  with  which  the  Congregation 
welcomed  the  accession  of  the  Earl  of  Arran  to  their  cause  is  sufficient 
proof  that  they  never  seriously  thought  of  such  a  scheme.  Failing  the 
Earl  of  Arran,  the  Congregation  might  have  been  driven  to  put  forward 
the  Lord  James  as  the  next  most  likely  person. — See  Cal.  of  State 
Papers  (Scotland),  i.  116,  where  Crofts  actually  attributes  this  scheme 
to  Knox.  2    Works,  i.  388. 

3  Teulet,  i.  326  (D'Oysel  to  De  Noailles,  22nd  July). 

*    Works,  p.  365. 


28  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

of  Strength,  the  Regent  had  a  steady  support,  which 
she  well  knew  how  to  turn  to  the  best  account.  She 
could  always  reckon  on  that  small  body  of  trained 
soldiers,  French  and  Scots,  who  formed  the  garrison 
of  the  strongholds  which  had  been  in  her  hands 
since  the  peace  that  followed  Pinkie.  Moreover,  the 
majority  of  the  nobles  still  stood  by  her,  and  showed 
some  eagerness  to  save  the  country  from  civil  war. 
While  at  Dunbar,  also,  she  was  visited  by  Lord  Erskine, 
the  Governor  of  Edinburgh  Castle,  who  gave  her  satis- 
factory proof  that  she  might  depend  on  his  support.^ 
Such  being  the  state  of  the  two  parties,  she  had  only 
to  bide  her  time  to  force  the  hands  of  the  insurgents. 
On  the  day  after  the  arrival  of  the  Congregation  in 
Edinburgh  they  had  sent  agents  to  her  with  the 
terms  they  were  then  willing  to  accept.  Conferences 
followed  between  the  leaders  on  both  sides  ;  but  they 
led  to  nothing,  and  it  became  clear  to  the  Protestant 
Lords  that  they  were  only  being  amused  till  delay 
had  done  its  work  in  breaking  up  their  following. 

At  length  the  Regent  thought  herself  strong 
enough  to  take  a  decided  step.  On  the  morning  of 
the  23rd  of  July  ^  her  forces  under  Chatelherault  and 
D'Oysel  marched  on  Leith,  which  they  reached  early 
on  the  morning  of  the  24th.  There  had  been  some 
understanding  between  Leith  and  Edinburgh  that 
they  should  make  a  common  defence  against  the 
Regent's  intended  attack,  and  with  this  object  the 
Protestants  in  Edinburgh  took  up  their  position  on 
the  eastern  side  of  the  Calton  Hill.^  One  shot  on 
the  part   of  Leith  was    its  sole  attempt  at   defence, 

1  Teulet,  i.  326  ;    Wodroiv  Misc.  i.  64. 

2  Works,  i.  2)11)  5  Teulet,  i.  325-326. 

3  Works.,  i.  374  ;    Wodrow  Misc.  i.  64. 


THE    WAR  OF  THE  CONGREGATION  29 

and  in  a  short  time  the  Lords  on  the  Calton  Hill 
saw  the  town  open  its  gates  to  the  French.  Their 
own  action  now  depended  on  the  line  taken  by 
Erskine  in  the  Castle.  As  they  were  ignorant  of 
the  pledge  which  Erskine  had  given  to  the  Regent 
at  Dunbar,  they  at  the  last  moment  sent  a  final 
request  that  he  would  stand  by  the  faith  his  con- 
science approved.  His  answer  was  peremptory.  If 
they  did  not  speedily  come  to  terms  with  the  Regent, 
he  would  open  fire  both  on  them  and  on  the  town. 
Thus  driven  to  bay,  the  Protestant  Lords  had  no 
alternative  but  to  make  the  best  of  their  situation. 
They  sent  to  D'Oysel  and  the  Duke  a  list  of  the 
conditions  they  were  willing  to  accept,  but  with  little 
expectation  that  they  would  be  seriously  entertained. 
At  a  meeting  on  the  east  slope  of  the  Calton  Hill,^ 
the  Duke  and  the  Earl  of  Huntly  on  the  one  side, 
and  Argyle,  the  Lord  James,  and  Glencairn  on  the 
other,  at  length  came  to  an  understanding.  The 
Congregation  was  to  surrender  Holyrood  Palace,  to 
give  up  the  coining-irons,  and  to  quit  Edinburgh 
within  twenty -four  hours.  The  town  was  to  be  left 
to  its  own  discretion  in  the  matter  of  religion ;  no 
French  garrison  was  to  be  introduced ;  the  Protestants 
were  to  be  allowed  full  liberty  of  worship,  but  were 
to  abstain  from  all  violence  against  the  ancient  religion  : 
and  the  arrangement  was  to  hold  till  the  loth  of 
the  following  January.''  Thus  the  Congregation  had 
gained    the    point   which    had    been    the    immediate 

1  At  what  were  known  as  the  Quarrel  or  Quarry  Holes,  afterwards 
known  as  the  Upper  Quarries. —  Works^  i.  379. 

2  It  is  worth  noting  that  while  Buchanan,  Knox,  and  the  writer  in 
the  Wodrovj  Miscellany  specify  as  one  of  the  terms  of  this  treaty  that 
no  French  garrison  should  be  placed  in  Edinburgh,  Leslie  and  Teulet 
make  no  mention  of  this. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 


occasion  of  their  rising.  Their  preachers  were  re- 
heved  from  outlawry,  and  were  allowed  to  go  out 
and  in  among  their  people  and  preach  at  will.  Yet 
the  victory  was  only  a  seeming  one.  So  long  as 
the  Regent  had  a  permanent  body  of  Frenchmen 
at  her  disposal,  she  could  always  in  the  end  prevail 
over  forces  which  could  not  hold  together  beyond 
a  few  weeks.  On  their  side,  the  Regent  and  her 
counsellors  had  received  a  warning  which  they  were 
not  likely  to  forget ;  and  they  were  well  aware  that 
the  recent  compromise  was  far  from  meeting  the 
ends  on  which  the  Protestants  were  now  bent. 

The  very  day  after  the  treaty  showed  the  im- 
possibility of  a  mutual  understanding  between  the  two 
parties.  On  the  arrival  of  the  Regent  in  Edinburgh 
she  instructed  Huntly  to  see  that  the  terms  regarding 
religion,  as  she  professed  to  understand  them,  should 
be  at  once  carried  out.  The  town,  he  urged  on  the 
Congregation,  was  now  free  to  set  up  whichever  of 
the  two  religions  it  chose.  To  settle  the  point, 
therefore,  a  meeting  of  the  citizens  ought  to  be  called 
to  ascertain  the  wishes  of  the  majority.  But  the 
Congregation  had  not  bargained  for  this.  They  knew 
that  they  were  in  the  minority,  and  that  the  vote  could 
go  only  one  way.  The  choice,  they  answered,  had 
already  been  made,  and  there  was  no  need  to  choose 
again.  It  was  not  the  Regent's  interest  to  recom- 
mence a  dangerous  contest,  and  she  reluctantly  yielded 
the  point.  During  the  following  months,  therefore, 
the  Protestants  continued  to  meet  in  the  Church  of  St. 
Giles,  where  John  Willock  preached  with  a  boldness 
and  fervour  worthy  of  Knox.^ 

1    Works^  i.  389-390;    Wodrow  Misc.  i.  65-66.      According  to  one 
of  the  terms  of  the  Leith  agreement,  the  Congregation  was  not  to  be 


THE    WAR  OF  THE  CONGREGATION  31 

According  to  the  terms  of  the  late  agreement  the 
Congregation  left  Edinburgh  on  the  26th  of  July,  As 
the  Regent  and  he  could  hardly  have  abode  in  the 
same  place,  Knox  was  induced  to  accompany  them. 
Before  their  final  dispersion,  however,  a  Council  was 
held  in  Stirling  to  decide  as  to  their  future  course  of 
action  ;  and  according  to  their  custom  they  gave  effect 
to  their  deliberations  in  a  mutual  bond.  Their  fear 
was  that  when  they  were  dispersed  each  would  be 
approached  singly  by  bribes  and  threats,  and  that 
their  party  would  be  thus  imperceptibly  broken  up. 
In  this  bond,  therefore,  each  took  oath  that  he  would 
receive  no  overtures  from  the  Regent  without  the 
knowledge  of  his  confederates,  and  that  as  soon  as 
such  overture  was  received  it  should  immediately  be 
made  known  to  the  other  signatories.  Finally,  before 
parting,  they  took  a  step  which  proves  that  they  were 
fully  aware  that  the  struggle  was  only  begun.  They 
determined  to  appeal  to  England,  now  a  Protestant 
nation,  to  assist  a  cause  which  it  was  her  own  special 
interest  to  support.  In  urging  this  step  none  was 
more  determined  than  Knox,  and  it  will  be  seen  that 
none  was  more  energetic  in  giving  it  effect.  During 
the  first  period  of  the  revolutionary  struggle  he  had 
all  along  been  in  the  thick  of  events.  At  Perth,  St. 
Andrews,  and  Edinburgh,  he  had  been  at  once  the 
hierophant  and  the  protagonist  of  his  party :  in  the 
period  of  the  struggle  on  which  we  are  now  about  to 
enter,  the  part  he  had  to  play  was  yet  more  important.^ 

molested  in  their  worship ;  according  to  another,  Edinburgh  was  to 
be  left  at  liberty  to  choose  between  the  two  religions.  As  the  Pro- 
testants were  in  possession  of  St.  Giles,  it  might  be  urged  that  to  oust 
them  from  that  church  was  to  "molest"  them. 

1   In   the  Appendix  a  document  will  be  found,   which  supplies  an 
interesting  commentary  on  the  events  recorded  in  the  foregoing  chapter. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 


The  document  in  question  is  a  letter  addressed  to  the  Pope  by  Mary 
and  the  Dauphin,  in  which  they  make  urgent  request  for  money  to 
enable  them  to  put  down  heresy  and  rebellion  in  Scotland.  In  support 
of  their  claim,  they  give  a  vivid  picture  of  the  pass  to  which  things  had 
come  in  that  country — their  information  being  evidently  derived  from 
the  Queen-Regent.  The  spread  of  heresy,  it  is  important  once  more  to 
notice,  they  expressly  attribute  to  the  ignorance  and  immorality  of  the 
clergy.  If  the  evil  were  to  be  put  right,  they  add,  rebellion  must  be 
crushed  by  the  strong  hand,  and  heresy  be  met  by  the  importation  of 
capable  religious  teachers.  The  rising  of  the  Congregation,  the  in- 
effectual meeting  of  the  last  Provincial  Council,  the  doings  at  Perth  and 
Scone,  are  successively  touched  upon — the  letter  having  been  written 
during  the  Regent's  retreat  in  Dunbar.  The  original  is  in  the  collection 
of  Mr.  A.  Morrison. — See  Appendix  B. 


CHAPTER    II 

THE    SECOND    RISING KNOX    AS    AGENT    AND    SECRETARY 

TO    THE    CONGREGATION 

1559 

Since  the  accession  of  Elizabeth  the  chief  men  with 
Protestant  leanings  in  Scotland  had  turned  their 
thoughts  to  England.  Before  the  close  of  1558 
Chatelherault  was  already  in  correspondence  with 
English  agents,  under  a  well-grounded  suspicion  that 
should  the  French  king  gain  his  ends  in  Scotland  the 
rights  of  the  house  of  Hamilton  would  not  stand  in  his 
way.^  The  Duke  could  hardly  be  called  a  Protestant, 
yet,  as  his  past  had  shown,  he  was  not  likely  to  stickle 
at  another  change  of  faith  if  the  interests  of  his  family 
might  be  served.  But  it  was  not  long  before  the 
genuinely  Protestant  party  in  Scotland  made  direct 
efforts  to  interest  England  in  their  quarrel  with  the 
Regent.  Early  in  the  spring  of  1559  we  find  Maitland 
in  communication  with]  Cecil  as  to  the  best  policy  to 
be  followed  by  the  Congregation.  Cecil  was  not  yet 
in  a  position  to  commit  himself  to  any  plan  of  action 
with  regard  to  Scotland  ;  but  he  showed  clearly  how 
his  desires  went.  "  Indeed,"  he  wrote  to  Maitland, 
"  I  see  no  such  safety  as  to  have  the  Government  in 

1  Keith,   i.   364-368,   Letter   of   Sir    Henry   Percy  concerning    the 
Affairs  of  Scotland. 

VOL.   II  3 


34  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

the  natural  born,  and  the  men  of  war  utterly  put  out."  ^ 
When  the  Congregation  rose  in  revolt,  he  saw  that  it 
must  be  of  vital  import  to  England  how  the  struggle 
should  end.  Should  the  Protestants  prove  the  stronger, 
England  would  be  safe  from  the  ambition  of  France  : 
on  the  other  hand,  the  victory  of  the  Regent  would 
be  a  menace  to  England  that  threatened  her  very 
existence.- 

From  the  letters  of  Throgmorton,  the  English 
ambassador  in  Paris  during  the  spring  of  1559,  we 
gather  with  what  concern  he  regarded  the  action  of 
France.  When  the  French  king  decided  to  send  a 
force  to  the  assistance  of  the  Regent,  Throgmorton 
was  convinced  that  its  ulterior  destination  was  the 
invasion  of  England.  The  death  of  Henry  II.  (loth 
July  1559)  increased  the  danger  of  the  situation. 
During  the  reign  of  their  son-in-law,  Francis  II,,  the 
Guises  controlled  the  counsels  of  France,  and  directed 
all  their  energies  to  add  England  to  the  crown  of 
Mary  Stewart.  In  the  triumph  of  the  Regent  over 
the  Congregation,  therefore,  there  was  an  immediate 
danger  to  England  to  which  both  Throgmorton  and 
Cecil  were  keenly  alive,  and  which  they  saw  could  be 
averted  only  by  common  action  with  the  Protestant 
party  in  Scotland.  Yet  without  some  overt  act  on 
the  part  of  France,  Elizabeth  was  in  such  a  position 
that  she  could  give  no  open  assistance  to  the  Congre- 

1  NaHo7ial  Manuscripts  of  Scotland^  Part  iii.  No.  xli. 

^  In  an  instruction  sent  to  France  by  the  Regent,  6th  February 
1558,  we  have  the  following  very  distinct  indication  of  the  intentions  of 
France  towards  England  :  "  Estant  ledit  sieur  d'Oysel  entre  sur  le  propos 
de  Barvic,  qui  est  une  place  forte  importante  au  bien  commun  des 
affaires  du  Roy  et  de  la  Royne  d'Ecosse,  et  laquele  estant  reduicte  en 
I'obeissance  de  Leurs  Majestez,  ce  seroit  descouvrir  tout  cler  le  Royaume 
d'Angleterre,  ne  se  presentant  outre  ledit  Barvich  aucune  forteresse  qui 
soit  pour  arrester  une  armee  jusques  k  Londres." — Teulet,  i.  289. 


THE  SECOND  RISING  35 

gation  without  placing  herself  in  a  false  position  in  the 
eyes  of  Europe.  By  the  recent  treaty  of  Cambrai 
peace  had  been  concluded  between  England  and 
France.  To  assist  a  people  in  revolt  against  their 
lawful  prince  was  a  bad  example  for  a  ruler  to  set, 
two -thirds  of  whose  own  subjects  might  be  ready  on 
occasion  to  take  arms  against  herself.  By  skilful 
management,  indeed,  Spain  could  be  played  off  against 
France  ;  yet  by  too  vigorous  a  support  of  heresy  in 
Scotland  it  was  possible  that  Spain  might  be  led  for 
once  to  subordinate  policy  to  religion,  and  to  engage 
in  a  crusade  worthy  of  the  Catholic  king.  For  these 
reasons  Elizabeth  might  well  hesitate  before  publicly 
identifying  herself  with  the  cause  of  Protestantism  in 
Scotland.  Yet  from  the  first  Cecil  had  no  doubt  as  to 
the  course  which  England  ought  to  pursue,  and  though 
he  was  hindered  at  every  step  by  the  indecision  of  his 
mistress,  he  contrived  that  the  Protestant  Lords  should 
never  lose  the  hope  that  England  would  eventually 
come  forward  with  the  help  they  needed. 

The  years  he  had  spent  in  England  marked  out 
Knox  as  the  fittest  person  to  effect  an  understanding 
between  the  Congregation  and  the  English  govern- 
ment. He  had  then  made  the  acquaintance  of  Cecil 
and  Throgmorton,  both  of  whom  had  implicit  trust  in 
his  plain  dealing  and  simplicity  of  purpose.  Of  his 
ability  to  be  of  service  to  England,  Throgmorton  held 
strong  opinion.  "And,  sir,"  he  wrote  to  Cecil, 
"though  that  Knox  the  preacher  did  heretofore 
unadvisedly  and  fondly  put  his  hand  to  the  book  ;  ^ 
yet,  forasmuch  as  he  is  now  in  Scotland,  in  as  great 
credit  as  ever  man  was  there  with  such  as  may 
be  able  to  serve  the  Queen's  Majesty's  turn  ;  it  were 

^   "The  Monstruous  Blast  aa^ainst  the  Reo^iment  of  Women." 


36  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

well  done  not  to  use  him  otherwise  in  mine  opinion 
than  may  be  for  the  advancement  of  the  Queen's 
Majesty's  service."^  Though  he  knew  how  ill  the 
advice  would  be  taken,  Throgmorton  dared  even  to 
press  Knox's  claims  on  Elizabeth,  "It  may,  there- 
fore, please  your  Majesty  to  be  informed,"  he  tells  her, 
"that  (in  my  poor  opinion,  saving  your  Highness' 
grave  judgment)  concerning  what  Knox  is  able  to  do 
in  Scotland,  which  is  very  much,  all  this  turmoil  there 
being  by  him  stirred  as  it  is  ;  it  should  stand  your 
Majesty  in  stead,  his  former  faults  were  forgotten,  and 
that  no  means  be  used  to  annoy  him  for  the  same."'- 

Before  he  had  left  Geneva,  Knox  had  warned  the 
Lords  of  the  Congregation  of  the  danger  ahead  in  their 
controversy  with  the  Regent.^  Foreseeing  that  of 
themselves  they  could  not  hold  their  own  against  the 
French  power  in  Scotland,  he  had  on  his  way  home 
intended  to  pass  through  England  and  confer  with 
Cecil  as  to  the  future  relation  of  the  two  countries. 
Through  Elizabeth's  dislike  of  him,  as  we  have  seen, 
Knox  had  been  forbidden  to  set  foot  on  English 
ground  ;  and  the  revolt  broke  out  in  Scotland  without 
any  definite  understanding  with  the  English  govern- 
ment. It  was  during  the  breathing-space  that  followed 
the  arrangement  at  Cupar  that  Knox  first  pressed  the 
necessity  of  an  appeal  to  England.  In  an  interview 
with  Kirkcaldy  of  Grange  at  St.  Andrews,  he  per- 
suaded him  to  open  communication  with  Sir  Henry 
Percy  by  way  of  approaching  the  English  government ; 
and  within  a  few  weeks,  Cecil,  Percy,  Knox,  and  Grange 
werein  active  correspondence  with  aviewto  some  mutual 
understanding.     Knox  thus  opens  his  communication 


1  Forbes,  State  Papers,  i.  119. 
2  Ibid.  pp.  129,  130.  3    Works,  ii. 


15- 


THE  SECOND  RISING  yj 

with  Percy,  whom  it  appears  he  had  not  previously- 
known  :  "  Richt  Honorable,  having  the  oportunitie 
of  this  bearer  unsuspect,  I  thought  good  to  requyr  of 
you  such  freindshipe  as  that  from  tym  to  tym  confer- 
ence and  knowledge  myght  be  betuixt  us  ;  I  mean 
not  my  self  and  you,  but  betuixt  the  faythfull  of  both 
the  Realmes  to  the  end  that  inconveniences  pretended 
against  both  may  by  Goddis  grace  and  myghty  power 
be  avoided.  Your  faythfull  freind  Mr.  Kyrkcaldye 
hath  reaported  to  me  your  gentill  behavour  and  fayth- 
full fidelitie  in  all  thingis  laughfull,  honest,  and  godlie."^ 

But  there  were  matters  to  be  discussed  which 
could  not  be  safely  trusted  to  paper.  It  was  Knox's 
desire,  therefore,  to  meet  Cecil  at  the  earliest  oppor- 
tunity, and  to  consider  the  terms  of  a  possible  agree- 
ment. Cecil  was  as  eager  as  Knox  for  this  meeting ; 
but  he  was  held  back  by  two  considerations.  Were  it 
known  to  the  Reo^ent  that  he  had  souQfht  an  interview 
w^ith  Knox,  the  most  intractable  of  her  subjects,  it 
might  lead  to  a  premature  breach  with  France,  which 
it  was  his  chief  anxiety  to  avoid.  On  the  other  hand, 
Elizabeth  was  so  ill-disposed  to  make  any  terms  with 
the  Scottish  insurgents,  and  so  strongly  prejudiced 
against  Knox  in  particular,  that  if  the  interview  was 
to  be  arranged,  it  must  be  without  the  knowledge  of 
Cecil's  mistress. 

Pending  this  meeting,  letters  of  the  highest  im- 
portance passed  between  Cecil  and  the  Protestant 
Lords.  What  Cecil  wished  to  be  assured  of  was  that 
the  breach  between  the  Reofent  and  the  Con^reeation 
was  beyond  healing  by  mutual  concession.  Till  the 
very  close  of  the  troubles  in  Scotland,  the  English 
government  never  lost  the  fear  that  ancient  sympathies 

1    Works,  vi.  35,  36. 


38  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

might  yet  prevail,  and  that  every  Scot — Protestant  and 
CathoHc  alike — might  yet  take  their  stand  with  France 
against  the  old  enemy  of  England.  In  a  reply  by  the 
Protestant  leaders  to  this  doubt  of  Cecil  occurs  the 
following  significant  passage.  This  letter,  it  should 
be  said,  is  in  Knox's  hand,  and  was  in  all  probability 
composed  by  him,  "  Trew  it  is  that  as  yet  we  have 
maid  no  mention  of  any  change  in  Authoritie,  neyther 
yet  hath  any  such  thing  entered  our  hartes,  except  that 
extream  necessitie  compell  us  thereto.  But  perceaving 
that  Fraunce,  the  Ouene  Regent  heir,  together  with 
Preastes  and  Frenchmen,  pretend  nothing  elles  but 
the  suppressing  of  Christ's  evangell,  the  maintenaunce 
of  idolatrie,  the  ruyn  of  us,  and  the  uter  subversion  of 
this  poor  Realme  ;  we  ar  fully  purposed  to  seak  the 
next  remeady  to  withstand  tyrannie,  in  which  mater 
we  hartlie  and  unfanedlie  requyr  the  faythfull  counsall 
and  furtherance  att  the  Ouenes  and  Consalles  hands 
for  our  assistance.  Thus  far  have  we  hasarded  to 
mak  you  participant  of  our  purposes,  estate,  and 
request ;  becaus  in  the  said  letters  you  requyr  of  the 
said  Mr.  Kyrkaldye  some  farther  ground  and  assurance 
then  his  owen  wordes  and  writeing  because  of  the  place 
which  you  hold  and  of  the  personages  with  whom  that 
matter  must  be  discours  ;  and  yet  we  doubt  not  but 
your  Wisdom  will  so  prudently  and  so  closelie  handell 
all  thingis  that  the  adversaryes  have  no  advantage  by 
discovering  of  things  to  all  men  befor  just  ripenes  of 
the  action  so  requyr."  ^ 

Along  with  the  above  letter  of  the  Lords,  Knox 
despatched  another  on  his  own  account  to  Cecil,  in 
which  he  once  more  asks  permission  to  visit  England. 
"By  diverse  letters,"  he  wrote,  "I  have  required  licence 

1    Works,  vi.  42  (19th  July  1559)- 


THE  SECOND  RISING  39 

to  have  veseted  the  Northt  partes  of  England  ;  but  as 
yit  I  have  reseaved  no  favorable  ansuer.  The  longer, 
Sir,  that  It  be  delayed  the  less  comfort  shall  the  fayth- 
full  in  those  quarteris  receave,  yea,  the  weaker  shall 
the  Quen's  Grace  be  ;  for  yf  I  war  not  to  hir  Grace  an 
assured  and  unfeaned  frende,  I  wold  not  so  instantlie 
begg  such  a  libertie  in  seaking  wharof  I  suppose  you 
be  persuaded  that  I  greatlie  seak  not  my  self.  The 
common  estait  of  thingis  heir  I  dowbt  not  but  ye  know. 
Some  thingis  I  have  (as  oft  I  have  written),  which 
glaidly  I  wold  communicat  with  you,  but  am  not 
mynded  to  committ  the  sam  to  paper  and  ink.  Fynd 
therfor  the  meanes  that  I  may  speak 'such  a  one  as  ye 
will  creditt  in  all  thingis."  ^  It  was  in  this  communica- 
tion to  Cecil  that  Knox  enclosed  his  famous  letter  to 
Elizabeth  in  which  he  attempts  to  reconcile  her  to  the 
principles  of  the  "  Monstruous  Blast."  Only  when  we 
understand  the  circumstances  in  which  it  was  written 
do  we  appreciate  the  significance  of  this  remarkable 
letter.  The  cause  which  absorbed  his  life  was  at  stake, 
and  only  through  Elizabeth  could  it  prosper ;  yet  he 
could  address  her  in  these  singular  words  :  "  Forget 
your  birth  and  all  title  which  thereupon  doth  hang,  and 
consider  deepelie  how,  for  feare  of  your  life,  you  did 
decline  from  God  and  bow  in  idolatrie."  - 

It  was  at  length  settled  that  Knox  should  pay- a 
secret  visit  to  Cecil  at  Stamford,  his  country-seat  in 
Lincolnshire.^  As  he  was  preparing  for  the  journey, 
however,  he  received  a  letter  from  Sir  Henry  Percy, 
requesting  a  secret  interview  at  Alnwick  on  the  3rd 
of  August.^  It  was  just  at  this  time  that  the  French 
issued  from   Dunbar  with  the   intention  of  attacking 

1    Works^  vi.  45,  46.  2  /^/^/_  p_  50. 

3  Ibid.  ii.   ^2.  •*  Ibid. 


40  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

Leith  and  Edinburgh ;  and  the  negotiations  that 
followed  delayed  Knox's  departure  till  the  last  day 
of  July  or  the  beginning  of  August.^  As  their  fully 
accredited  representative,  he  bore  a  list  of  written 
instructions  from  the  Lords  which  they  offered  as  the 
basis  of  a  treaty.^  On  condition  that  England  should 
take  up  the  cause  of  the  Congregation,  they  expressed 
a  wish  for  a  mutual  league  against  the  French  and  all 
other  enemies — neither  country  to  make  peace  or  war 
without  the  consent  of  the  other.  For  themselves  they 
desired  such  a  league  for  two  reasons — the  suppression 
of  superstition  and  the  setting  up  of  true  religion,  and 
the  restoration  of  their  ancient  laws  and  liberties. 

As  the  safest  mode  of  making  his  journey,  Knox, 
in  company  with  a  brother-minister,  Robert  Hamilton, 
sailed  from  Pittenweem,  on  the  east  coast  of  Fife,  to 
Holy  Island.  Percy,  they  found,  had  left  the  neigh- 
bourhood for  the  time,  and  they  directed  themselves 
to  Sir  James  Crofts,  Governor  of  Berwick,  who  had 
also  been  in  the  secret  of  the  late  negotiations. 
Proceeding  to  Berwick  at  Crofts'  request,  they  re- 
mained close  within  the  Castle  for  two  days,  appar- 
ently awaiting  letters  from  Cecil.  In  spite  of  the 
pains  Knox  had  taken  to  keep  his  journey  secret,  his 
presence  in  Berwick  was  known  to  the  Regent,  whose 
spies  were  everywhere.  But  the  English  government 
was  not  yet  prepared  to  avow  its  dealings  with  the 
Congregation,  regarding  whose  aims  and  prospects 
they  were  still  uncertain  and  suspicious.^  Though 
Knox  would  fain  have  gone  farther  into  England, 
both  for  the  purpose  of  seeing  old  friends  and  of  meet- 

1    IVoris,  ii.  50. 

"  These  instructions,  dated  the  30th  of  July,  are  given  in   Laing's 
Knox,  vi.  56-58.  3    Works,  vi.  62. 


THE  SECOND  RISING  41 

ing  Cecil,  Crofts  urged  his  immediate  return  to  Scot- 
land in  the  interest  of  the  business  on  which  he  had 
come.  Letters  having  arrived  from  Cecil  addressed  to 
himself  and  the  Protestant  leaders,  Knox,  in  company 
with  one  Alexander  Whitelaw,^  left  Berwick  on  the 
3rd  of  August  for  Stirling,  then  the  headquarters  of 
the  Congregation."^  The  journey  was  an  adventurous 
one,  as  the  Regent  was  aware  of  his  return,  and  had 
given  orders  that  he  should  be  seized  by  the  way.^ 
On  the  journey  Whitelaw  took  ill,^  and  Knox,  parting 
company  with  him,  reached  Stirling  on  or  before  the 
6th  of  August. 

The  letter  of  Cecil  to  the  Lords,  which  Knox 
brought  from  Berwick,  was  not  satisfactory.^  He 
made  various  suggestions  as  to  the  action  they  should 
take  if  they  would  bring  their  enterprise  to  a  successful 
issue.  They  need  not  want  money,  he  told  them,  if 
they  would  but  follow  the  example  of  Henry  VHL, 
and  appropriate  the  wealth  of  the  Church  to  a  Chris- 
tian purpose.  The  letter  was  full  of  vague  promises 
of  encouragement,  but  it  contained  no  definite  answer 
to  the  demands  of  the  Congregation.  Two  replies  to 
this  letter  of  Cecil,  one  in  the  name  of  the  Congre- 
gation, and  one  from  Knox,  put  plainly  before  him 
the  alternatives  between  which  he  must  choose.      If 

1  This  Wliitelaw  was  a  busy  and  confidential  agent  between  the 
Congregation  and  EUzabeth's  ministers.  Throgmorton  describes  him  as 
"  a  very  honest,  sober,  and  godly  man,  and  most  truly  affectionate  to 
England  of   any   Scottishman   I    know   here." — Forbes,  Siafe   Papers, 

'•  137- 

-  David  Laing  points  out  that  Dr.  M'Crie  was  in  error  in  making 
Knox  return  by  sea. —  Works,  ii.  35  note. 

3  Ibid.  vi.  63. 

•*  Ibid.  ii.  35.  Whitelaw,  on  resuming  his  journey  (from  Preston  to 
Edinburgh)  in  company  with  Knox's  brother  William,  was  chased  for 
three  miles.  William  Knox,  it  appears,  had  been  mistaken  for  his 
brother.  ^  /^/^/_  y\_  51-5  5- 


42  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

England  did  not  come  to  their  help,  they  could  not 
of  themselves  carry  on  the  contest  they  had  begun. 
Many  of  their  number  would  make  their  peace  with 
the  Regent ;  France  would  become  supreme  in  the 
country,  and  Cecil  knew  whether  this  would  consist 
with  the  interest  of  England.  On  the  other  hand, 
should  England  decide  to  support  the  Congregation, 
no  time  was  to  be  lost  in  dilatory  negotiation.  At 
that  moment  they  had  500  men  in  arms,  and  money 
was  pressingly  needed  to  defray  the  expense  of  main- 
taining them.  But  such  a  force  was  totally  inadequate 
to  the  enterprise  in  which  they  were  engaged.  An 
additional  force  of  1000  foot  and  300  horse  would  be 
necessary,  and  the  means  to  support  such  a  force  was 
not  to  be  found  among  the  Protestant  leaders,  who 
had  already  impoverished  themselves  by  their  past 
efforts.  Things  were  in  a  more  favourable  train, 
however,  than  Cecil's  letter  had  led  the  Scottish  Lords 
to  expect.  Two  days  after  their  reply  was  written, 
Elizabeth  granted  Sir  Ralph  Sadler  a  commission  to 
effect  a  secret  understanding  with  the  Congregation.^ 
As  proof  of  the  sincerity  of  her  intention,  Sadler  was 
entrusted  with  ^3000  to  distribute  as  he  should  see 
fit  in  the  interest  of  England,  The  sum  was  pitifully 
inadequate  in  the  circumstances ;  but  it  convinced  the 
Protestants  that  Elizabeth  found  herself  constrained 
to  regard  their  cause  as  to  a  certain  extent  her 
own. 

But  it  was  not  only  as  secretary  and  secret  agent 
that  Knox  had  served  the  Conoreoration  durino:  the 
last  few  weeks.  By  preaching  tours  throughout  the 
country  he  had  done  much  to  spread  the  Protestant 
doctrine,  and   to  strengthen  his  party  for  the   battle 

^   Sadler,  State  Papers^  i.  387  et  seq. 


THE  SECOND  RISING 


which  every  one  knew  to  be  imminent/  In  a  letter 
to  Mrs.  Locke  (2nd  September)  he  gives  the  following 
account  of  his  labours  during  July  and  August:  "I 
have  beene  in  continuall  travell  since  the  day  of  appoint- 
ment, and  notwithstanding  the  fevers  have  vexed  me 
the  space  of  a  month,  yitt  have  I  travelled  through 
the  most  part  of  this  realme,  where  (all  praise  be  to 
his  blessed  Majestie)  men  of  all  sorte  and  conditions 
embrace  the  truthe.  Enemeis  we  have  manie,  by 
reasoun  of  the  Frenchemen  who  are  latelie  arrived," 
of  whom  our  parteis  hope  goldin  hills  \_sic\,  and  such 
support  as  we  be  not  able  to  resist.  We  doe  nothing 
but  goe  about  Jericho,  blowing  with  trumpets,  as  God 
giveth  strenth,  hoping  victorie  by  his  power  alone. 
Christ  Jesus  is  preached  even  in  Edinburgh,  and  his 
blessed  sacraments  rightlie  ministred  in  all  congrega- 
tiouns  where  the  ministrie  is  established  ;  and  they  be 
these  : — Edinburgh,  Sanct  Andrewes,  Dundie,  Sanct 
Johnstoun,  Brechin,  Montrose,  Stirling,  Aire.  And 
now,  Christ  Jesus  is  begun  to  be  preached  upon  the 
south  borders,  nixt  unto  you,  in  Jedburgh  and  Kelso, 
so  that  the  trumpet  soundeth  over  all,  blessed  be  our 
God."^ 

During  the  following  months  Knox  resided  mainly 
in  St.  Andrews,  though  his  labours  frequently  carried 
him  elsewhere.  The  times  were  such,  indeed,  as 
strained  to  the  utmost  all  his  energies  of  mind  and 

1  Sadler  and  Crofts  in  a  letter  to  Cecil  (Sth  September)  thus  refer 
to  the  efforts  of  the  preachers  at  this  time  :  "Agayn  during  this  meane 
tyme  they  have  had  their  prechers  abrode  in  the  realme,  which,  by 
their  preaching  and  doctrine,  have  so  woonne  and  allured  the  people  to 
their  devocion,  as  he  [Sadler]  sayeth  their  power  is  now  double  that  it 
was,  in  the  cause  of  religion  ;  and  such  as  yet  be  not  fully  persuaded 
therto,  here,  nevertheles,  such  hatred  to  the  Frenchmen,  as  he 
thinketh  in  maner  the  hole  realme  favoureth  their  partie." — Sadler, 
State  Papers^  i-  431.  -  See  below.  '^    Works,  vi.  78. 


44  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

body.  About  the  middle  of  August  a  French  force  of 
looo  men  were  landed  at  Leith/  and  it  was  under- 
stood that  a  larger  detachment  was  speedily  to  follow. 
As  their  wives  and  children  came  in  company  with 
these  troops,  it  was  the  general  conviction  that  the 
occupation  of  the  country  by  Frenchmen  could  not  be 
far  off  So  strong  was  the  feeling  of  the  country,  that 
the  Regent  published  a  manifesto  in  justification  of  her 
conduct.^  To  Knox  apparently  was  assigned  the  task 
of  replying  to  the  Regent's  apology,  and  he  performed 
it  with  his  usual  vigour.  Reviewing  her  government 
from  the  beginning,  he  showed  that  it  had  been  inspired 
by  the  object  of  making  Scotland  the  tool  of  France, 
that  by  exorbitant  taxation,  a  debased  coinage,  and 
the  rapacity  of  the  French  soldiery,  the  Scottish  people 
had  all  these  years  been  groaning  under  her  tyranny.^ 
According  to  their  agreement,  the  Protestant  Lords 
met  at  Stirling  on  the  loth  of  September  to  hold 
counsel  as  to  their  future  conduct.  At  this  meetino- 
appeared  a  personage  whose  presence  marked  a  new 
departure  in  the  policy  of  the  Congregation.  This 
was  the  Earl  of  Arran,  eldest  son  of  the  Duke  of 
Chatelherault,  and  therefore  the  heir  of  all  the  claims 
of  the  house  of  Hamilton.  A  few  months  before,  his 
Protestant  sympathies  had  given  offence  to  Henry  H., 
who  had  sought  to  lay  hands  on  him  to  prevent  his 
doing  further  mischief  in  propagating  heresy.^  Eliza- 
beth and  her  ministers  had  at  once  seen  how  useful  an 
instrument  Arran  might  be  in  working  Scottish  affairs 
to  their  own  advantage.^     Should  Arran  identify  him- 

^    Works,  i.  396.  "   Knox  gives  this  manifesto  in  full,  i.  397-399. 

3    Works,  i.  400  et  seq. 

■*  Teulet,  i.  312  (Henry  II.  to  De  Noailles,  21st  June  1559). 
^   It  was  mainly  through  the  agency  of  Elizabeth  that  Arran  escaped 
from  France,  and  finally  found  his  way  to  Scotland. 


THE  SECOND  RISING  45 

self  with  the  Congregation,  his  rank  and  claims  would 
greatly  strengthen  their  cause.  The  Protestant  leaders, 
also,  were  fully  aware  that  the  presence  of  Arran  in  their 
midst  was  in  the  highest  degree  opportune.  Many 
who  had  hitherto  stood  aloof  from  them  would  have 
their  scruples  removed  when  they  saw  the  possible 
heir  to  the  throne  identified  with  a  cause  with  which 
they  themselves  secretly  sympathised.  In  Arran's 
claims,  also,  Mary  of  Lorraine  would  see  a  menace  to 
her  own  daughter,  which  might  constrain  her  to  com- 
promises which  otherwise  she  might  not  have  enter- 
tained. 

In  view  of  their  strained  relations  with  the  Regent, 
despite  the  late  treaty,  it  was  decided  by  the  Lords 
at  Stirling  that  the  Protestants  should  hold  themselves 
in  readiness  to  take  the  field  at  four  days'  notice.^  By 
common  consent,  also,  they  passed  to  Hamilton  to 
come  to  an  understanding  with  the  Duke  in  the  new 
turn  which  affairs  had  taken.  Chatelherault  had  now 
many  reasons  to  induce  him  to  throw  in  his  lot  with 
the  reforming  party.  His  eldest  son  had  narrowly 
escaped  rough  handling  from  the  French  king,  and  it 
was  understood  that  a  younger  brother  of  Arran  was 
then  actually  a  prisoner  in  France.^  To  all  appearance 
the  French  were  now  bent  on  a  final  subjugation  of 
the  country,  and,  in  the  event  of  their  success,  the 
Hamiltons  would  be  heavier  losers  than  any  other 
Scottish  house.^  On  the  other  hand,  a  scheme  was 
taking  shape  in  the  minds  of  the  Protestant  leaders 

1  Sadler,  i.  461  (Balnaves  to  Sadler  and  Crofts,  23rd  September). 

2  Cecil  to  the  Lords  of  the  Congregation,  28th  July  1559. —  IVorks^ 

vi.  53,  54- 

2  This  is  specially  insisted  on  by  Arran  himself  in  a  letter  to  Cecil 
(25th  September),  giving  an  account  of  what  took  place  at  Stirling  and 
Hamilton.  Arran's  letter  is  given  in  Illustrations  of  the  Reign  of  Queen 
Mary,  pp.  71-73  (Maitland  Club,  1837). 


46  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

which  was  well  fitted  to  turn  the  head  of  a  man  like 
Chatelherault.  As  it  had  grown  clearer  every  day 
that  under  French  rule  the  new  religion  could  never 
win  an  assured  position  in  the  country,  there  was  no 
course  left  but  to  find  a  prince  who  would  meet  the 
views  of  Protestants  and  patriots  alike.  In  Arran  it 
seemed  that  both  classes  found  what  they  wanted  to 
justify  their  casting  off  a  queen  ruling  in  the  interests 
of  a  foreign  power.  To  concentrate  their  forces, 
therefore,  to  put  before  the  world  what  might  be 
accepted  as  a  plausible  pretext  for  their  action,  and  to 
place  before  themselves  a  clear  issue  towards  which 
they  might  work  with  a  well-defined  purpose,  the 
Protestant  leaders  had  now  fixed  on  Arran  as  the  most 
suitable  person  to  realise  their  wishes  on  the  throne  of 
Scotland.  But  this  was  only  part  of  a  wider  scheme 
which  they  had  conceived  in  the  interests  of  Scotland 
and  Protestantism.  It  had  been  in  the  mind  of 
Henry  VIII.  not  only  to  unite  his  son  Edward  with 
Mary  Stewart,  but  also  his  daughter  Elizabeth  with 
the  Earl  of  Arran. ^  By  this  double  union  he  thought 
that  the  two  countries  would  be  so  interlaced  that  the 
one  could  not  find  its  interest  in  breaking  away  from 
the  other.  In  the  case  of  Edward  and  Mary  the  plan 
had  failed  miserably  ;  but  It  now  seemed  to  the  Pro- 
testant leaders  that  the  marriage  of  Arran  and  Eliza- 
beth lay  in  the  decrees  of  Providence  for  the  future 
wellbeing  of  the  two  countries  they  represented.  To 
Cecil  and  other  of  Elizabeth's  advisers  such  a  union 
commended  itself  as  the  most  prudent  their  Queen  could 
form  in  view  of  the  policy  she  had  adopted,  and  of  her 

1  Froude,  vi.  236.  In  his  thirty-seventh  chapter  r^Ir.  Froude  has 
gone  into  the  details  regarding  the  proposed  marriage  between  Arran 
and  EHzabeth. 


THE  SECOND  RISING  47 

position  among  the  great  princes  of  Europe.  Mean- 
while, at  least,  the  scheme  was  one  which  proved  of 
the  most  practical  value  for  strengthening  the  con- 
fidence of  the  negotiating  parties  in  each  other.  In 
centring  their  hopes  on  Arran  the  Protestant  Lords 
gave  to  England  the  surest  pledge  that  they  had 
finally  broken  with  France,  and  thus  removed  one  of 
Cecil's  strongest  fears  in  supporting  them. 

Induced  by  these  prospects,  Chatelherault  now 
openly  identified  himself  with  the  Protestant  party. 
While  the  Lords  were  at  Hamilton,  news  came  that  the 
Regent  had  begun  to  fortify  Leith  ;  ^  and  as  this  was 
a  distinct  breach  of  the  late  agreement,  they  were 
not  slow  to  remind  her  of  her  bad  faith.  In  a  letter 
addressed  to  her  from  Hamilton  they  threatened  to 
take  speedy  steps  to  check  her  if  she  did  not  of 
her  own  accord  put  a  stop  to  the  work ;  ^  and  to  this 
letter  Chatelherault  affixed  his  signature  along  with 
the  rest,  as  a  definitive  intimation  to  the  Regent  that 
he  had  joined  the  ranks  of  her  adversaries. 

It  was  now  evident  to  both  parties  that  the  re- 
commencement of  the  struggle  could  not  be  long 
delayed.  A  few  days  after  the  above  letter  was 
written  a  fresh  detachment  of  troops,  to  the  number  of 
800,  arrived  from  France  at  Leith. ^  Along  with  them 
came  the  Bishop  of  Amiens  and  three  doctors  of  the 
Sorbonne,  whose  learning  and  eloquence,  it  was  hoped, 
might  in  some  measure  counteract  the  influence  of  the 
Protestant  preachers.     The  fortification  of  Leith,  more- 

^  Sadler,  i.  461  ;   Knox,  i.  413. 

2  See  this  letter  in  Knox,  i.  413,  414.  In  Teulet  (i.  349,  350) 
there  is  an  interesting  letter  from  De  Noailles  describing  the  doings  of 
Chatelherault  at  this  time.  De  Noailles  erroneously  assigns  the  22nd 
of  September  as  the  date  of  the  letter  addressed  to  the  Regent.  The 
real  date  as  given  by  Knox,  who  produces  the  letter  itself,  was  the  1 9th. 

3  Sadler,  i.  464,  470. 


48  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

over,  went  on  apace,  and  the  Regent  meanwhile  was 
sparing  no  means  to  weaken  the  ranks  of  her  enemies 
by  promises,  bribes,  and  threats  as  she  found  most 
convenient.  Under  these  circumstances  the  Protestant 
leaders  issued  the  order  that  their  supporters  should 
assemble  at  Stirling  on  the  15th  October,  thence  to 
march  on  Edinburgh,  and  bring  their  forces  to  bear  on 
the  Regent.^ 

Since  the  begfinningr  of  the  revolt  the  Protestants 
had  made  distinct  gains  in  the  country.  From  the 
nobility  they  had  gained  the  Duke  and  the  Earl  of 
Arran,  while  three  powerful  nobles,  Huntly,  Morton, 
and  Erskine,  had  given  indications  that  they  were 
moving  in  the  same  direction.  Maitland  of  Lethington, 
also,  who  was  afterwards  to  prove  such  an  efficient 
ally,  had  intimated  that  he  was  only  waiting  the  oppor- 
tunity to  throw  over  the  Regent,  and  join  the  Protest- 
ants.^ Among  the  people,  hatred  of  the  French  and 
the  efforts  of  the  Protestant  preachers  had  materially 
increased  the  numbers  of  the  Congregation.  Supported 
as  they  now  were  by  English  aid,  it  might  seem  that 
the  Protestants  were  in  a  position  to  impose  their  will 
both  on  the  Regent  and  the  nation  at  large.  In 
reality  they  were  not  so  strong  as  they  seemed. 
Owing  to  a  late  harvest^  they  had  been  unable  to 
assemble  in  force  till  the  Regent  had  fortified  Leith, 
and  been  reinforced  by  fresh  bands  from  France.  The 
men  whom  they  brought  into  the  field  were  "cuntrie 
fellows,"'^  unpractised  in  war  and  helpless  in  presence 
of  the  fortifications  raised  by  skilled  engineers  round 
Leith.       Above    all,    the    want    of   money    paralysed 

1    Works,  i.  417. 
2  Sadler,  i.  451  (Sadler  and  Crofts  to  Cecil,  i6th  September). 

3  Ibid.  i.  431. 
^  Herries,  Hist,  of  the  Reigtte  of  Marie  Quee?t  of  Scots,  p.  50. 


THE  SECOND  RISING  49 

their  efforts.  In  a  letter  to  Sir  James  Crofts,  Knox 
gives  us  a  glimpse  into  the  affairs  of  his  fellow-workers, 
which  shows  how  serious  he  considered  the  situation 
to  be.  At  the  date  when  it  was  written,  as  will  be  seen, 
Knox  was  still  acting  as  secretary  to  the  Congregation. 
"  Before  I  wrote  unto  yow  and  unto  Mr.  Secretary 
that  onles  summe  supporte  were  made  unto  particuler 
men,  and  especiallie  to  those  whom  I  did  notifie  in 
writing,  that  impossible  it  ware  unto  them  to  serve  in 
this  action.  For  albeit  that  money,  by  the  adversarie 
partie  largelie  offered,  coulde  not  corrupt  them  ;  yet 
shulde  extreme  povertie  compell  them  to  remayne  at 
home ;  for  they  are  so  superexpended  alreadie  that 
they  are  not  hable  to  bear  oute  their  trayne,  and  the 
same  thing  I  write  unto  you  again,  requyering  you  to 
sigfnifie  the  same  to  suche  as  tendre  the  furtheraunce 
of  this  cause.  If  any  persuade  you  that  they  wool  or 
maye  serve  without  supporte,  they  doo  but  deceyve 
you.  If  I  did  not  perfetlie  understand  thair  necessitie, 
I  woolde  not  write  so  precislie  ;  for  I  nothing  doubte 
to  obteyne  of  them  by  the  authoritie  of  God's  woord, 
what  lyeth  in  their  power  ;  yea,  if  they  coulde  have 
money  uppon  their  lands,  I  shulde  never  solicitt  for 
them  ;  but  the  knowledge  of  their  povertie  and  the 
desier  which  I  have  that  the  cause  prosper  makith  me 
bolde  to  speake  my  judgement.  If  we  lacke  those, 
Sir,  whome  in  my  former  lettres  I  expressed,  our 
power  will  be  weaker  then  men  beleve.  Fraunce 
seekith  all  meanes  to  make  them  freends  and  to 
diminish  our  nombre.  Ye  are  not  ignorant  what 
povertie  on  the  one  parte,  and  money  largelie  offred 
upon  the  other  part,  is  hable  to  persuade.  Be  adver- 
tised and  advertise  you  others,  as  you  favour  the 
successe  of  the  cause.      I  have  doon  what  in  me  lyeth 

VOL.  II  4 


50  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

that  corruption  entre  not  amongst  them  ;  and  at  my 
last  departing  from  them,  I  verilie  beleve  that  they 
were  of  one  mynde  to  promote  the  cause  enterprised, 
but  the  power  of  summe  is  suche  as  before  I  ex- 
pressed." ^ 

On  the  1 6th  October^  the  Congregation  entered 
Edinburgh.  Two  hours  before  the  Regent  had  left  it 
for  Leith,  accompanied  by  the  Archbishops  of  St. 
Andrews  and  Glasgow,  the  Abbot  of  Dunfermline, 
and  Lord  Seton.^  Her  plan  of  action  was  precisely 
the  same  as  had  succeeded  so  well  in  the  case  of  the 
previous  rising.  Intrenched  in  Leith,  and  with  a 
garrison  of  3000  trained  soldiers,  she  could  hold  her 
own  with  little  difficulty  till  time  should  again  do  its 
work.  The  Congregation  were  only  8000  strong^ — 
a  force,  considering  the  materials  of  which  it  was  com- 
posed, utterly  inadequate  to  a  successful  attack  on  her 
present  stronghold.  Money,  she  knew,  was  scarcer 
than  ever  with  their  leaders  ;  a  few  weeks  would  see 
their  numbers  seriously  reduced  ;  and  by  that  time 
further  reinforcements  from  France  would  again  enable 
her  to  take  the  offensive. 

The  Protestant  leaders  perfectly  understood  the 
Regent's  tactics,  and  proceeded  with  the  vigour  which 
the  situation  demanded.  Immediately  on  their  arrival  in 
Edinburgh  they  despatched  a  message  requesting  her 
to  desist  from  fortifying  Leith,  and  to  send  her  foreign 
soldiery  out  of  the  country.  She  replied  that  such  a 
message  would  have  come  better  from  a  prince  to  his 
subjects  than   from   subjects   addressing   their   prince, 

1  Knox  to  Sir  James  Crofts,  21st  September  {IVorks^  vi.  80).  This 
letter  is  signed  "John  Sinclear,"  Knox's  signature,  as  we  have  seen,  in 
times  of  danger. 

2  Works,  i.  437.  2    Wodrow  Misc.  i.  68. 
*  Ibid.     A  thousand  of  these  were  mercenaries. 


THE  SECOND  RISING  51 

and  that  their  entire  course  of  conduct  more  than 
justified  all  the  precautions  she  had  taken  in  self- 
defence.^  This  answer  could  only  have  been  what  the 
Congregation  expected,  and  they  at  once  took  a  step 
which  had  been  in  their  minds  for  the  last  few  months. 
At  a  meeting  held  in  the  Tolbooth  on  the  21st  of 
October,^  they  went  through  the  form  of  debating  the 
expediency  of  deposing  Mary  of  Lorraine  from  the 
Regency.  As  a  necessary  part  of  their  proceedings 
they  consulted  Knox  and  Willock  as  the  spiritual 
advisers  of  the  Congregation.  From  what  we  have 
seen  of  Knox's  political  teaching  there  could  be  little 
doubt  as  to  how  he  would  answer  the  question.  Both 
gave  their  opinion  for  deposition,  Knox  adding  the 
safe  proviso  that  if  Mary  of  Lorraine  should  ever  give 
sure  sign  of  repentance  for  her  past  conduct,  and 
should  submit  to  the  guidance  of  the  Scottish  nobility, 
she  should  be  reinstated  in  her  office  and  honours.  It 
was,  in  truth,  in  the  necessity  of  their  position  that  the 
Congregation  should  sooner  or  later  take  the  step  they 
now  took.  Between  the  demands  they  made  and  the 
policy  of  Mary  of  Lorraine  there  could  be  no  common 
ground  of  harmonious  action.  Moreover,  by  this 
definitive  rejection  of  her  authority,  they  at  once 
conciliated  the  house  of  Hamilton,  and  ensured  the 
support  of  England  in  their  quarrel  with  France. 

Immediately   after   the   Council   broke   up,   it  was 

1  Knox,  i.  440,  441  ;  Buchanan,  pp.  318,  319.  The  Regent's  reply 
is  very  fully  given  in  Buchanan.  It  is  an  honourable  distinction  of 
Buchanan's  History  that  while  he  leaves  us  in  no  doubt  as  to  what  side 
he  approves,  he  never  fails  to  put  the  case  of  the  other  side  in  the  best 
light  of  which  it  is  capable.  I  have  pointed  out  this  elsewhere. — See 
the  Life  of  Buchanan,  p.  322. 

-  Knox,  i.  441.  There  is  some  uncertainty  about  the  precise  dates 
at  this  point ;  but  I  have  followed  those  of  Knox,  as  he  was  himself  an 
actor  in  the  events  which  he  records. 


52  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

proclaimed  at  the  Market  Cross  that  by  the  "  Nobihtie, 
Baronis,  and  Broughes  convenit  to  advise  upoun  the 
affairis  of  the  commoun  -  weall,"  Mary  of  Lorraine 
was  suspended  from  the  Regency  of  Scotland.^  The 
Proclamation,  which  may  have  been  the  work  of 
Knox,  is  drawn  up  with  the  skill  of  a  deft  and  practised 
hand.  What  is  remarkable  in  the  document  is  that  the 
question  of  religion  seems  to  be  deliberately  kept  in  the 
background.  It  is  on  the  plea  of  the  Regent's  tyrannical 
government,  of  her  sacrifice  of  Scotland  to  France, 
that  her  suspension  is  based.  The  policy  of  this  is 
evident.  The  support  of  the  Protestants  in  the  country 
the  Lords  were  assured  of ;  but  there  was  a  large 
number  of  the  people  not  in  sympathy  with  the  new 
religion  who  were  yet  alarmed  at  the  tendency  of 
Mary  of  Lorraine's  government.  It  was  this  section 
which  had  to  be  gained  over ;  and,  as  addressed  to 
them,  the  Proclamation  does  credit  to  the  astuteness 
of  its  author.  By  a  specious  attempt  to  give  the 
deposition  the  form  of  law,  the  document  closes  with 
the  hardy  affirmation  that  the  step  had  been  taken  in 
the  name  and  authority  of  their  two  sovereigns  now 
in  France.  All  through  their  proceedings  the  Con- 
gregation had  professed  to  act  in  the  conviction  that 
Mary  of  Lorraine  was  not  countenanced  by  their 
lawful  sovereigns.      They  must  have  known  that  this 

1  Works,  i.  444.  Knox  gives  the  Proclamation  in  full,  but  without 
signatures.  In  the  MS.  of  1566  there  is  a  blank  space  of  half  a  page, 
which  was  evidently  intended  for  the  names  of  those  who  signed  the 
document.  In  a  contemporary  transcript  of  a  letter  sent  to  the  Regent 
two  days  after  the  Proclamation  there  are  ten  signatures.  As  they  are 
probably  the  same  as  those  attached  to  the  Proclamation,  they  are  given 
here  :  '■'■Earls,  My  Lord  Duke's  Grace  and  Earl  of  Arran,  the  Earl  of 
Argyle,  the  Earl  of  Glencairn  ;  Lords,  James  of  St.  Andrews,  the  Lord 
Rutliven,  the  Master  of  Maxwell  ;  Barons,  Tullibardine,  the  Laird  of 
Dun,  the  Laird  of  Pittarrow  ;  the  Provost  of  Aberdeen  for  the  Burrows." 
— Knox,  i.  451,  note. 


THE  SECOND  RISING  53 

plea  had  no  basis  in  fact ;  yet  as  covering  their  action 
with  an  appearance  of  law  it  served  its  purpose  in  their 
appeals  to  the  people. 

In  the  above  manifesto  the  Congregation  had  sought 
to  justify  their  action  to  their  own  countrymen;  but  they 
also  desired  to  explain  their  motives  to  the  world  at  large. 
To  this  moment  we  may  refer  a  long  address  in  Latin  ^ 
to  the  princes  of  Christendom,  in  which  they  recounted 
the  wrongs  done  to  Scotland  by  France  during  the 
minority  of  Mary  Stewart.  In  this  document,  as  in  the 
other,  the  question  of  religion  is  touched  only  in  the 
most  casual  manner.  It  is  the  misgovernment  of 
Mary  of  Lorraine  and  the  tyrannical  purpose  of  France 
on  which  they  rest  the  justification  of  all  their  action. 
In  the  appeal  with  which  they  conclude,  it  is  as  patriots 
and  not  as  apostles  of  a  new  religion  that  they  speak. 
"  If  these  representations  are  just,"  they  conclude, 
"  and  come  within  the  duty  of  a  good  man,  we  beseech 
and  conjure  all  men  and  princes  who  bear  the  name 
of  Christ  to  show  themselves  impartial  judges  of  a 
just  cause,  to  give  no  faith  to  the  accusations  and 
calumnies  of  our  enemies,  but  to  hold  for  certain  that 
to  this  pass  we  have  not  been  willingly  led,  but  forcibly 
drawn  by  the  wicked  trains,  by  the  insolence  and 
intolerable  oppression  of  the  French  ;  that  we  bring 
force  against  no  one,  and  only  wish  to  avert  war  and 
keep  our  common  country  from  pressing  danger." 
Such  a  document  could  hardly  have  satisfied  Knox 
as  a  statement  of  the  dominant  motives  which  had 
governed  his  labours  since  his  return  to  Scotland. 
No  Scotsman  living  had  better  reason  to  detest 
France  than  himself.  It  was  to  French  interference 
in   Scotland  that  he  owed  those  years  in  the  galleys 

1  This  manifesto  is  given  in  Teulet  (i.  414-428). 


54  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

which  could  never  pass  from  his  memory.  As  a  lover 
of  his  country,  also,  he  must  have  deeply  resented  the 
haughty  assumption  of  France  in  its  dealing  with 
Scotland.  But  it  was  neither  motives  of  personal 
revenge  nor  motives  of  patriotism  that  drove  Knox 
along  his  present  course.  Yet  there  were  reasons 
why  the  Protestant  leaders  should  give  themselves 
out  as  patriots  rather  than  apostles.  In  Scotland 
hatred  of  the  French  was  a  feeling  in  which  all  classes 
were  united.  After  their  own  countrymen,  England 
had  to  be  considered  in  an  Apology  which  was  meant 
for  all  Christendom.  In  supporting  the  Scottish 
Protestants,  as  has  been  said,  Elizabeth's  main 
difficulty  was  that  to  the  world  it  must  seem  that 
she  was  countenancing  the  rebellion  of  subjects  against 
their  lawful  rulers.  But  if  in  her  government  Mary 
of  Lorraine  had  been  the  mere  instrument  of  her 
brothers  the  Guises,  the  conduct  of  her  revolted 
subjects  could  not  be  regarded  as  mere  rebellion. 
In  taking  the  line  of  defence  they  did,  therefore, 
the  authors  of  this  manifesto  once  more  gave  proof 
of  that  worldly  wisdom  which  all  along  had  guided 
their  counsels. 

It  soon  appeared  that  the  Congregation  had  under- 
taken a  task  beyond  their  strength.  The  Regent's 
spies  were  everywhere,  and  betrayed  their  most  secret 
designs.  Their  mercenaries,  not  receiving  their  full 
pay,  could  not  be  depended  on,  and  at  any  moment 
might  go  over  to  the  enemy.  In  their  straits  they 
nobly  agreed  to  coin  their  silver  -  plate ;  but  the 
coining  instruments  were  carried  off,  and  the  proposal 
came  to  nothing.^  Their  only  hope  of  carrying  on 
the   struggle    depended    on    the    promised    aid   from 

1    Works,  i.  453,  454. 


THE  SECOND  RISING  55 

England  ;  but  of  this  stay  also  an  untoward  accident 
deprived  them.  Yielding  to  the  representations  of 
Cecil  and  others  of  her  advisers,  Elizabeth  had  agreed 
to  send  another  instalment  of  ^1000  to  the  Protestant 
leaders.  The  transaction  was  conducted  with  the 
utmost  secrecy ;  but  Mary  of  Lorraine  was  fully  aware 
of  the  whole  proceeding.  Acting  on  her  order,  the 
Earl  of  Bothwell  waylaid  Cockburn  of  Ormiston,  who 
was  bearing  the  money  from  Berwick  to  Ormiston, 
wounded  him  severely,  and  carried  off  the  whole  sum 
intended  for  the  Congregation.^  One  misfortune  now 
succeeded  another,  till,  with  the  exception  of  Arran 
and  the  Lord  James,  the  Protestant  Lords  once  more 
gave  up  their  cause  as  lost."  While  some  of  their 
best  troops  were  gone  in  search  of  Bothwell,  a  band 
of  the  enemy  issued  from  Leith,  drove  before  them 
the  mercenaries  of  the  Congregation,  and  pursued  the 
fugitives  into  the  streets  of  Edinburgh.^  A  still  more 
serious  defeat  on  the  5th  of  November  finally  con- 
vinced them  that  .they  were  no  longer  in  a  position 
to  carry  on  the  struggle.* 

It  was  certainly  no  fault  of  Knox  that  things  had 
gone  so  ill  with  his  party.  Daily  from  the  pulpit  he 
and  Willock  spoke  in  the  ears  of  crowded  congre- 
gations. Still  carrying  on  a  correspondence  with 
England,  he  plied  every  argument  which  might 
persuade  that  country  to  an  open  alliance  with  the 
Congregation.  A  piece  of  information  he  was  able 
to  give  Cecil  showed  that  statesman  what  England 
might  look   for  should   France  triumph   in  Scotland. 

1  Works,  i.  454,  455  ;  Sadler,  i.  528,  538,  542,  600  ;  Teulet,  i.  379, 
The  sum  seized  by  Bothwell  is  variously  stated.      See  Teulet's  note. 

2  Works,  i.  464. 

3  /^/^_  i_  457^  458  ;  Teulet,  i.  ■},TI  et  scq. 

^    Works,  i.  460  et  seq.;  Teulet,  i.  377  d  seq. 


56  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

In  his  voyage  from  Dieppe  to  Leith,  Knox  had  seen  a 
sceptre  meant  for  the  Regent,  engraved  with  the  arms 
of  England,  France,  and  Scotland.  In  reply  to  an 
inquiry  of  Cecil  he  was  also  able  to  tell  him  that  a 
great  seal  had  lately  been  sent  from  France,  similarly 
engraved  with  the  arms  of  the  three  countries/  As 
Knox  knew,  it  was  only  the  fear  of  France  that  would 
quicken  Elizabeth  into  active  assistance  of  his  party, 
and  these  were  facts  that  would  carry  more  weight 
with  her  than  any  arguments  as  to  the  justice  of  his 
cause. 

Never,  it  would  appear,  were  Knox's  labours 
heavier  than  now.  In  addition  to  his  preaching  he 
still  performed  the  duties  of  secretary  to  the  Lords 
of  the  Congregation.  His  wife,  whom  he  had  im- 
patiently awaited  since  his  coming  to  Scotland,  had 
lately  joined  him,  and  to  some  extent  must  have 
lightened  his  burden.  "  The  rest  of  my  Wife,"  he 
wrote,  "  hath  been  so  urirestfull  since  her  arriving 
that  skarslie  could  she  tell  upoun  the  morrow  what 
she  wrote  at  night."  ^  But  his  own  toils  and  anxieties 
were  evidently  beyond  what  he  could  long  endure, 
"  Mack  ye  advertisement,"  he  wrote  at  this  time  to 
an  English  correspondent,  "  as  ye  think  good,  for  I 
cannot  write  to  any,  especiall  for  lack  of  opportunitie  ; 
for  in  twenty  -  four  hours  I  have  not  four  free  to 
naturall  rest  and  ease  of  this  wicked  carcass,"^  All 
this  while,  moreover,  he  knew  that  his  life  was  daily 
sought  by  the  enemy.  "  Remember  my  last  request 
for  my  Mother,"  he  says  in  the  same  letter,  "and  say 
to  Mr,   George"^  that  I  have  nead  of  a  good  and  an 

1  Works,  vi.  86,  88,  89. 

2  Ibid.  vi.  104.  3  Ibid.  p.  88. 

^  His  mother-in-law,   Mrs.  Bowes,  and  her  son  George,   afterwards 
Sir  George  Bowes. 


THE  SECOND  RISING  57 

assured  horse  ;  for  great  watch  is  laid  for  my  appre- 
hension, and  large  money  promissed  till  any  that  shall 
kyll  me."  ^ 

It  was  the  gloomy  prospect  of  the  Congregation, 
however,  that  was  his  main  concern.  In  his  despera- 
tion he  was  driven  to  make  a  suggestion  to  his  English 
correspondent,  Crofts,  which,  though  perfectly  in  the 
spirit  of  the  age,  is  curiously  out  of  keeping  with  the 
whole  strain  of  his  character.  It  is  a  signal  tribute  to 
Knox,  indeed,  that  this  passage  in  his  writings  strikes 
us  as  almost  ludicrous  in  view  of  his  general  modes 
of  thought  and  action.  The  only  hope  for  the  Con- 
gregation, he  saw,  was  that  England  should  send  a 
body  of  troops  adequate  to  a  successful  siege  of  Leith, 
and  it  was  in  urging  this  necessity  on  Crofts  that  he 
suggested  the  following  dubious  counsel:  "  Yf  ye  fear 
to  offend  Fraunce,  in  hart  it  is  allready  att  defiaunce 
with  you,  and  abideth  only  the  opportunitie  and  ad- 
vantaige.  If  you  list  to  craft  with  thame,  the  sending 
of  a  thousand  or  mo  men  to  us  can  breake  no  league 
nor  point  of  peace  contracted  betwix  you  and  Fraunce  : 
For  it  is  free  for  your  subjects  to  serve  in  warr  any 
prence  or  nation  for  thare  wages.  And  yf  ye  fear 
that  such  excusses  shall  not  prevaile,  you  may  declayr 
thame  rebells  to  your  Realme  when  ye  shalbe  assured 
that  thei  be  in  our  companye.""  England  was  not 
yet  ready  to  take  such  an  open  part  against  France, 
and  as  the  best  way  of  meeting  Knox's  request,  Crofts 
assumed  a  tone  of  superior  virtue.  Crofts,  it  should 
be  said,  was  afterwards  suspected  of  playing  false  to 
his  own  country  throughout  these  negotiations  with 
the   Congregation.^      "  I    have   receyved   your   lettres 

1    Works,  V.  88.  2  /^/^.  yi.  90. 

3  Sadler,  i.  711  ;  Froude,  vi.  364,  366,  371. 


58  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

of  the  25,"  he  writes  to  Knox,  "for  answer  where- 
unto  albeit  for  myn  own  part  I  coulde  be  well 
content  to  satisfie  your  hole  requests  with  as  good 
will  as  you  seme  to  desyre  it ;  yet  can  I  not  but 
mervaile  that  you,  being  a  wise  man,  woll  require 
of  us  to  such  present  ayde  of  men,  money,  and 
amunycion,  as  we  cannot  minister  unto  you  without 
an  open  shew  and  manifestacion  of  our  selfs  to  be 
as  open  enemyes,  where,  as  you  know,  by  leag  and 
treatie,  we  be  bounde  to  be  frends  ;  prayeng  you  to 
consider  how  we  may,  without  touche  of  honour  and 
hurte  of  our  commenwealth,  being  now  in  good  peax 
and  amytie,  enter  sodenly  into  open  warre  and  hos- 
tylitie."^  From  Knox's  reply  to  this  rebuke  of  Crofts 
it  would  appear  that  he  was  somewhat  ashamed  of  his 
suggestion,  though  even  on  second  thoughts  he  was 
not  convinced  that  he  had  given  dishonourable  counsel. 
In  making  war  in  Scotland,  France  was  in  reality 
driving  at  the  conquest  of  England,  and  had  thus 
practically  set  aside  the  treaty  of  Cambrai.  In  his 
reply  to  Crofts  it  will  be  seen  that  this  is  the  line 
of  defence  he  takes.  "Your  reassonable  answer  to 
my  unreassonable  requeaste,  ryght  Worshipfull,  re- 
ceaved  I  this  28  of  October,  and  have  imparted  the 
contents  of  the  sam  to  such  as  partlie  induced  me 
befor  to  write.  I  was  not  altogetther  ignorant  neather 
what  mycht  ensew  your  manifestation  in  supporting 
us,  nether  yet  how  far  did  your  commission  extend 
in  such  cases.  But  considdering  (as  my  slender  witt 
did  serve  for  the  tym)  whetther  was  the  greatter 
daunger,  the  Nobilitie  here  to  be  defaitt  (or  yet  frustrat 
of  thare  interprise),  or  ye  to  abyd  the  hasard  of  the 
future   and  suspected    incommodities,   it    appeared   to 

1    Works,  vi.  91. 


THE  SECOND  RISING  59 

me  that  the  former  myght  justly  devour  the  other. 
As  tuiching  the  leage  and  treatie  which  now  ye 
suppose  to  have  with  such  as  ye  term  your  freinds, 
I  unfeanedhe  wishe  that  it  war  so  suyr  that  you  should 
never  have  occasion  to  break  any  point  contracted. 
But  whether  it  may  stand  with  wisdom  to  have  such 
respect  to  that  which  som  men  do  call  honour  that 
in  the  mean  tym  I  shall  see  my  freind  perrishe,  both 
till  his  distruction  and  myn,  I  reffer  to  the  judgement 
of  the  most  honourable.  France  was  under  leage  and 
treaty  of  peace  with  England  when  it  did  manifestlie 
support  Scotland  to  both  our  displeasure  ;  and  yet  I 
think  that  thei  nether  wold  have  confessed  breche 
of  treaty  nor  blemyshe  of  honour."  ^ 

The  defeat  of  the  5th  of  November  had  convinced 
the  Congregation  that  the  Regent  was  still  too  strong 
for  them.  Their  position  in  Edinburgh  had  become 
insupportable.  Their  soldiers  were  mutinous ;  the 
majority  of  the  citizens  were  opposed  to  them  ;  and 
the  Castle  would  show  them  no  favour.  Under  these 
circumstances  their  leaders  determined  to  vacate  Edin- 
burgh that  very  night.^  As  before,  they  proceeded  to 
Stirling  to  hold  counsel  as  to  their  future  line  of  action. 
They  were  not  in  the  best  of  spirits  after  this  second 
overthrow  of  all  their  hopes ;  but  they  had  two  men 
in  their  ranks  who  were  convinced  that  the  battle  was 
not  lost,  and  who  each  in  his  own  way  was  specially 
fitted  to  make  the  most  of  a  tottering  cause, — Knox 

1  Cecil  seems  to  have  approved  of  the  snub  which  Crofts  had  ad- 
ministered to  Knox.  "  Suerly  I  lyke  not  Knoxees  audacite,"  he  writes 
to  Crofts,  "  which  also  was  well  tamed  in  your  answer.  His  writings 
do  no  good  here  ;  and  therefore  I  doo  rather  suppress  them,  and  yet  I 
meane  not  but  that  ye  shuld  contynue  in  sending  of  them." — Sadler,  i. 
535.  As  we  have  seen,  Cecil  had  more  than  once  been  made  to  smart 
by  Knox's  freedom  of  speech  towards  himself. 

2  Works,  i.  465. 


6o  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

and  Maitland  of  Lethington,  On  the  arrival  of  the 
Congregation  at  Stirling,  Knox,  as  at  every  crisis,  was 
called  upon  to  preach  a  sermon  befitting  the  occasion. 
It  was  at  moments  like  this  that  Knox  showed  his 
essential  greatness  as  an  inspirer  of  men.  For  him- 
self he  was  convinced  that  the  cause  in  which  he  was 
engaged  might  be  retarded  by  the  backsliding  of  men, 
but  that  it  was  in  the  immutable  decree  of  Heaven 
that  it  should  triumph  at  last.  The  sermon  he  now 
preached  was  long  remembered  as  having  renewed  the 
hearts  of  the  faithful  at  a  moment  when  they  seemed 
ready  to  faint.^  After  the  sermon  the  Council  was 
held,  and  resolutions  were  taken  which  were  to  lead  to 
results  that  fully  justified  all  the  confidence  of  Knox. 

As  has  been  said,  William  Maitland  had  lately 
joined  the  Congregation,  and  had  accompanied  them 
in  their  flight  from  Stirling.  The  very  fact  that  a 
man  of  Maitland's  insight  had  taken  their  side  at  such 
a  juncture  was  itself  an  encouraging  proof  that  their 
case  was  not  so  desperate  as  it  seemed.^  From  his 
knowledge  of  the  condition  of  both  parties  he  had 
strongly  protested  against  the  Lords  leaving  Edin- 
burgh at  the  time  they  did.^  His  advice  on  this 
occasion  had  been  disregarded  ;  but  the  Congregation 
was  soon  to  learn  that  in  Maitland  they  had  secured 
an  ally  whose  services  could  hardly  be  overestimated. 
To  Knox  the  acquisition  of  Maitland  came  as  a  relief 
which  must  have  been  welcome  for  more  reasons  than 
one.  "  I  hope,"  he  writes  to  Crofts,  "  that  God  hath 
delivered  me  from  the  most  part  of  these  civill  effares, 
for  now  are  men   of    better  judgement    and  greatter 

1  Buchanan  and  the  author  of  the  Historie  of  the  Estate  of  Scotland, 
as  well  as  Knox  himself,  make  special  reference  to  this  sermon. 

2  According  to    Knox,  it  was   at  the  risk  of  his  life  that  Maitland 
remained  in  the  camp  of  the  Regent. — i.  463-464.  ^  Ibid. 


THE  SECOND  RISING  6i 

experience  occupied  in  these  maters.  Young  Leding- 
ton,  Secreatarie,  is  delivered  from  the  fearfull  thraldom 
of  the  Frenchmen,  and  is  now  with  us  in  Edinburgh, 
who,  I  trust,  shall  releaf  me  of  the  presupposed  jour- 
ney."^ At  the  Council  which  was  held  at  Stirling,  it 
was  this  journey  of  Maitland  that  was  the  main  subject 
of  consideration.  As  there  was  no  thought  but  to 
continue  the  struggle,  it  was  more  imperative  than 
ever  that  powerful  and  speedy  assistance  should  be 
obtained  from  England.  To  compass  this  end  it  was 
decided  that  Maitland  should  proceed  to  the  English 
Court  with  such  instructions  as  seemed  likely  to  lead 
to  a  mutual  understanding.  Meanwhile,  the  Lords 
and  gentlemen  of  the  Congregation,  retiring  to  their 
respective  localities,  were  to  use  their  best  endeavour 
for  the  common  cause.  On  the  i6th  of  December 
they  were  to  reassemble  at  Stirling,  and  consider  their 
further  plans  of  action.^ 

1  Wo7'ks^  vi.  94. 

2  It  is  probably  to  this  period  that  we  must  assign  an  interesting 
document,  referred  to  by  Tytler  {Hist,  of  Scot.  vi.  80,  tiote).  It  is 
entitled  "  The  Apologie  off  our  Departure,"  and  is  a  reply  on  the  part 
of  the  Protestants  to  the  charge  of  cowardice  in  fleeing  from  their 
enemies.  As  neither  names  nor  dates  occur  in  it,  it  is  impossible  to  fix 
the  precise  circumstances  under  which  it  was  written.  Tytler  thought 
it  was  the  production  of  Knox,  in  justification  of  his  flight  from  Scotland 
in  1556.  But  the  original  is  not  in  Knox's  handwriting,  nor  does  its 
style  remotely  suggest  that  of  Knox.  Laing  thought  it  must  be  the 
work  of  Maitland  or  Erskine  of  Dun.  Maitland's  it  can  hardly  be  ;  but 
the  writer's  manner  does  resemble  that  of  Erskine  in  the  writings  of  his 
we  possess.  The  document  is  printed  by  Laing. — Knox,  Works.,  vi. 
683  d"/  seq. 


CHAPTER    III 

THE    THIRD    RISING    OF    THE    CONGREGATION KNOX 

IN    THE    BACKGROUND 

1559-1560 

During  the  third  and  last  stage  of  the  revolt  against 
Mary  of  Lorraine,  Knox  plays  a  less  prominent  part 
than  in  the  previous  two.  His  work  as  secretary  and 
agent  for  the  Congregation  had  been  taken  in  hand  by 
Lethington,  and  for  the  most  part  his  duties  were  con- 
fined to  preaching  and  exhortation.  Even  as  a  preacher 
he  had  not  the  same  opportunities  for  such  dramatic 
appearances  as  had  occurred  at  Perth,  St.  Andrews, 
and  Edinburgh.  But  there  was  another  reason  why 
during  this  closing  struggle  Knox  should  fall  into  the 
background.  Thenceforth,  till  the  treaty  of  Leith 
(July  1560),  it  is  no  longer  religion  that  is  put  forward 
as  the  plea  for  revolt.  In  all  the  manifestoes  of  the 
insurgents  during  the  next  six  months  the  threatened 
French  conquest  is  the  rallying  cry  with  which  they 
seek  to  rouse  the  country.  The  cry  for  a  Reformed 
religion  had  failed  to  bring  the  bulk  of  the  nobility  to 
their  side  ;  and  to  commend  their  cause  to  Elizabeth 
they  must  place  themselves  before  the  world  as  a 
people  oppressed  by  foreign  laws  and  menaced  by  a 
foreign  power.  Such  a  representation  of  the  cause  to 
which    he    was    giving    his    life    could    not    meet   the 


THE  THIRD  RISING  63 

approval  of  Knox.  To  keep  back  the  fact  that  the 
renewal  of  religion  was  the  main  object  of  the  Con- 
gregation was  to  invite  the  judgment  of  Heaven  on 
their  enterprise.  Knox,  therefore,  could  no  longer  be 
what  he  had  been,  in  the  developments  the  struggle 
had  now  taken.  He  was  himself  perfectly  aware  that 
things  had  changed  between  himself  and  the  leaders  of 
the  Congregation.  "  I  am  judged  amongis  ourselves 
too  extream,"  he  writes,  "and  be  reason  therof  I  have 
extracted  myself  from  all  public  assemblies  to  my 
privat  study."  ^ 

As  has  been  said,  the  Lords  of  the  Congregation, 
on  leaving  Stirling,  broke  up  into  two  companies. 
Chatelherault,  Argyle,  and  Glencairn,  the  Lords  Boyd 
and  Ochiltree,  proceeded  to  Glasgow ;  Arran,  the 
Lord  James,  the  Lords  Rothes  and  Ruthven,  to  St. 
Andrews.  In  these  two  towns  it  was  judged  that 
they  could  most  effectually  consolidate  the  discon- 
tented elements  of  the  people.  By  the  arrangement 
of  the  Protestant  leaders  Knox  made  his  headquarters 
at  St.  Andrews,  and  was  charged  with  the  duty  of 
representing  the  Protestants  throughout  Fife.^  Till 
the  following  spring,  therefore,  Knox's  activity  lay 
mainly  in  St.  Andrews ;  though,  as  we  find  him 
again  expressing  his  great  need  for  a  good  horse,  he 
must  have  been  going  and  coming,  at  least  in  the 
immediate  neighbourhood.^ 

About  the  middle  of  December  a  message  came 
from  Maitland  desiring  further  instructions  from  the 
Congregation  regarding  his  mission  to  England.*     As 

1  Works^  vi.   105  (Knox  to  Gregory  Raylton,  29th  January  1560). 

2  Ibid.  ii.  40. 

3  Ibid.  vi.  107  (Knox  to  Gregory  Raylton,  29th  January  1560). 

'^  Ibid.  ii.  4.      The  message  from    Maitland  was  brought  by  Robert 
Melville,  who  had  accompanied  him  to  England. 


64  LIFE   OF  JOHN  KNOX 

had  been  previously  agreed,  the  Lords  from  St. 
Andrews  and  Glasgow  met  at  Stirling  to  consider 
Maitland's  report.  Their  meeting  was  unexpectedly 
disturbed.  While  they  had  been  laying  their  plans 
the  Regent  had  not  been  idle.  The  day  after  they 
had  left  Edinburgh  she  had  entered  it,  and  was  now 
doing  her  utmost  by  threats  and  promises  to  win  the 
Castle.^  About  the  same  date  that  Maitland  went  to 
England  she  despatched  an  agent  to  counteract  his 
mission."  In  the  beginning  of  December  fresh  rein- 
forcements from  France  landed  in  Leith,^  and  a  still 
stronger  force  was  immediately  to  follow.  Since  the 
beginning  of  the  troubles  her  prospects  had  never 
been  brighter ;  and  when  the  news  reached  her  that  the 
Lords  were  met  at  Stirling,  her  Council  resolved  on  a 
decided  step.  On  Christmas  Eve  a  body  of  troops 
stole  from  Edinburgh  with  the  intention  of  surpris- 
ing the  assembly  at  Stirling  ;  and  next  day  these  were 
followed  by  another  detachment,  commanded  by 
D'Oysel  in  person.^  Against  such  a  force,  amounting 
to  2500  men,^  the  Lords  were  not  in  a  position  to 
make  head,  and  before  the  arrival  of  the  enemy  they 
precipitately  left  the  town,*^ 

This  new  enterprise  of  the  French  filled  the  Con- 
gregation with  the  utmost  alarm.  Knox,  who  had 
been  one  of  those  present  at  Stirling,  writes  as  follows 

1    Wodrow  Misc.  i.  T},^  74. 

'-  Stevenson,  Illustrations  of  the  Reign  of  Quee7t  Mary,  p.  78.  (The 
Lord  James  to  Sadler  and  Crofts,  17th  November  1559.)  The  Regent's 
agent  Avas  De  Rubay,  who  filled  the  office  of  Chancellor  of  the 
kingdom. 

3  Wodrow  Misc.  i.  74. 

4  Teulet,  i.  404  (D'Oysel  to  De  Noailles). 

5  This  is  the  number  given  by  the  writer  of  the  "Historic"  in 
Wodro2U  Misc.  i.  75.  D'Oysel,  however,  in  the  letter  above  referred  to, 
speaks  of  thirteen  ensigns,  which  would  make  the  number  about  1500. 

•5    Wodrow  Misc.  i.  75. 


THE   THIRD  RISING  65 

from  St.  Andrews  the  day  after  the  new  dispersion  : 
"  The  common  bruite  is  that  the  French  have  in  hand 
som  haisty  and  som  great  enterprise  ;  and  the  rumour 
lackest  not  appearance,  for  thei  have  shipped  much 
ordinaunce,  and  ar  not  verrey  solHst  to  re-enforte  the 
ruptures  and  daly  decayes  of  Leyth.  It  is  feared  that 
either  thei  shall  tack  Styrviling  or  Sanctandrois  ;  and, 
therfor,  I  was  send  by  the  Lordis  from  Styrviling  in 
diligence  to  advertiss  that  thare  earnest  desyr  is  that 
your  shippes  with  possible  expedition  schew  them- 
selves upon  these  coastes,"^ 

D'Oysel's  object  soon  became  apparent.  After 
a  few  days'  delay  by  reason  of  the  weather,  he 
despatched  his  troops  across  Stirling  Bridge  through 
Fife,  and  himself  passed  over  from  Leith  with  between 
three  and  four  hundred  men.^  By  throwing  such,  a 
force  into  Fife  D'Oysel  could  only  be  meaning  to 
drive  the  Protestants  from  St,  Andrews  as  they  had 
already  been  driven  from  Edinburgh  and  Stirling. 
Divining  his  purpose,  the  Protestant  Lords  and 
gentlemen  in  Fife  debated  every  inch  of  the 
ground.  For  the  space  of  a  month  there  was 
almost  daily  skirmishing,  in  which  neither  party  had 
a  decisive  superiority ;  but  which,  as  it  appeared, 
could  only  end  in  one  way.  Arran,  the  Lord  James, 
and  Kirkcaldy  of  Grange,  fought  in  a  manner  that 
won  Knox's  admiration,  though  he  trembled  for  the 
consequences  should  they  come  to  misfortune.  "  The 
said  Erie  and  Lord  James,"  he  says,  "for  twentie  and 
ane  dayis  thei  lay  in  thair  clothes  ;  thair  buttis  never 
come  of;  thei  had  skarmissing  almost  everie  day; 
yea,   some   dayis,   from  morne  to  evin."^      With  the 

1    Works^  vi.  102  (Knox  to  Crofts,  26th  December). 
2  Teulet,  i.  404,  405.  ^    Works,  ii.  9. 

VOL.  II  5 


66  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

handful  of  men  at  their  disposal,  however,  they  could 
not  long  make  head  against  such  odds,  and  D'Oysel 
steadily  forced  his  way  towards  St.  Andrews.  Never 
had  the  cause  of  the  Congregation  been  so  desperate. 
To  fill  up  their  dismay,  another  band  of  French  soldiery 
to  the  number  of  900  had  landed  in  Leith  during  the 
first  days  of  January.^  The  Regent  was  triumphant, 
and  in  the  hearing  of  those  who  reported  her  words 
to  Knox,  exclaimed,  "Whair  is  now  Johne  Knox  his 
God  ?  My  God  is  now  stronger  than  his,  yea  even  in 
Fyff.'"^ 

Knox  fully   realised    the    extremity   to   which   his 
party  was   reduced.     Writing  to   Mrs.   Locke  on  the 
last  day  of  December  he  tells  her  that  "  one  day  of 
trubles  since  my  last  arrivall  in  Scotland  hath  more 
peirced  my  heart  than  all  the  torments  of  the  galeyes 
did  the  space  of  19  moneths  ;  for  that  torment,  for  the 
most  part,  did  tuiche  the  bodie,  but  this  pearces  the 
soule  and  inward  affectiouns."  ^    Yet  he  never  doubted 
that  sooner  or  later  the  true  evangel  must  triumph  in 
Scotland.       In   the  midst   of  the  French  invasion   of 
Fife   he    appeared  before  the   Protestant   leaders    at 
Cupar  and  preached  a  sermon,  which  put  fresh  heart 
into  his  hearers.      As  usual  he  produced  a  Scripture 
parallel  for  the  case  in  which  they  now  found  them- 
selves.      They   were    now,    he    told    them,    like    the 
disciples   on   the   Sea  of  Galilee  when  the  night  fell 
and  the  storm  broke,  and  their  Master  was  absent  on 
the  mountain.     The  fourth  watch  was  not  yet  come ; 
but  it  was  at  hand,  and  their  deliverer  would  appear 

1  Under  De  Martigues.  According  to  the  Z'/z/r^i^/^Cra^rrr/z/j  the 
landing  took  place  on  the  iith  January.  This  detachment,  as  we  shall 
see,  was  only  part  of  a  larger  force  which  had  been  sent  from  France. 
— Forbes,  i.  307. 

2  Works,  ii.  8.  ^  Ibid.  vi.  104. 


THE   THIRD  RISING  67 

Upon  the  waters/  But  while  he  thus  spoke  encour- 
agement, he  did  not  spare  rebuke  of  those  through 
whose  shortcomings  their  cause  was  weakened.  On 
this  occasion  the  Earl  of  Arran  was  the  chief  mark  at 
which  he  aimed.  In  a  comparison  between  the  Earl 
and  Jehoshaphat  he  told  him  that  he  did  not  appear 
to  advantage.  While  Jehoshaphat  went  in  and  out 
among  his  soldiers  and  people,  and  cheered  them  by 
his  words  and  presence,  Arran  "  keipit  himself  more 
close  and  solitary  than  many  men  wald  halfe  wisshed."  - 
We  cannot  wonder  that  Arran  winced  under  this  plain 
speaking,  and  gave  the  preacher  to  understand  that 
his  advice  was  unwelcome. 

Deliverance  was  nearer  than  Knox  probably  ex- 
pected. The  French  in  their  progress  along  the  coast 
on  their  way  to  St.  Andrews  had  crossed  the  river 
Leven,  when  (23rd  January)  a  fleet  of  armed  vessels 
was  seen  to  enter  the  Firth  of  Forth. ^  For  the  last 
few  weeks  the  Marquis  D'Elboeuf  had  been  expected 
in  Scotland  with  a  force  that  was  effectually  to  crush 
all  the  enemies  of  France.  It  was  D'Oysel's  first 
thought  that  D'Elboeuf  had  come  at  last  to  relieve  the 
Regent  and  himself  from  all  their  anxieties.  In  this 
belief  he  pursued  his  march  as  far  as  the  mouth  of  the 
Firth.  Here  he  speedily  learned  his  mistake.  Before 
his  very  eyes  the  strangers  seized  two  ships  on  the 
way  from  Leith  with  provisions  for  his  own  camp.^ 
The  strange  vessels  were,  in  truth,  the  advanced 
squadron  of  a  fleet  which  Elizabeth  had  sent  with  the 
express    purpose   of  blocking   the   Firth    against   the 


1    Works,  vi.  8.  2  /^/,/.  p.  9. 

^  Ibid.  p.  13  ;  Sadler,  i.  698.     (Arran  and  the  Lord  James  to  Sadler 
and  Crofts,  26th  January.) 

^  Diurnal  of  O cciir rents,  p.  55. 


68  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

landing  of  fresh  troops  at  Leith.^  With  all  expedition 
D'Oysel  retreated  towards  Stirling,  beset  at  every  step 
by  the  enemy,  cut  off  from  all  supplies,  and  marching 
with  difficulty  over  roads  which  a  month's  storm  had 
rendered  almost  impassable.  Not  till  he  reached 
Linlithofow  did  he  consider  himself  safe  from  his 
pursuers,  goaded  to  fury  by  the  rapacity  of  his  soldiers 
during  the  late  expedition." 

As  appears  from  Knox's  own  account,  the  English 
fleet  had  not  appeared  a  day  too  soon  for  the  safety  of 
St.  Andrews.  From  a  letter  to  Mrs.  Locke,  written 
about  a  fortnight  after  the  retreat  of  the  French,  we, 
learn  with  what  dismay  their  approach  had  been 
regarded.  "  I  remained  all  the  time  in  Sanct 
Andrewes,"  he  writes,  "  with  sorrowfull  heart ;  and 
yitt  as  God  did  minister  his  Spirit,  comforting  the 
afflicted  ;  who,  albeit  they  quaiked  for  a  time,  yitt  doe 
now  praise  God,  who  suddanlie  diverted  frome  them 
that  terrible  plague  devised  for  them  by  the  ungodlie. 
The  Frenche  men  approached  within  six  miles,  and 
yitt  at  a  sight  of  certain  of  your  ships  they  retired 
more  in  one  day  than  they  advanced  in  ten."^ 

Meanwhile,  the  mission  of  Maitland  to  the  English 
Court  had  borne  fruit.  In  the  beginning  of  January 
the  Duke  of  Norfolk  came  to  the  north  of  England 
with  instructions  to  open  negotiations  with  the  Protest- 
ant Lords. ^  The  proposal  for  a  meeting  was  first 
conveyed  to  Chatelherault  and  the  Lords  at  Glasgow, 
who  fixed  on  Carlisle  as  the  place  most  convenient  for 

1  Keith,  i.  408.  (Instructions  given  by  the  Queen's  Majesty  to 
William  Winter,  Esq.,  Master  of  the  Ordnance  of  her  Majesty's 
Admiralty,  sent  at  this  present  to  the  seas  with  fourteen  armed  ships  to 
sail  to  Scotland.) 

2  Works,  ii.  13,  14  ;    Wodfotu  Misc.  i.  yj,  78  ;  Sadler,  i.  698,  699. 
^    IVorks,  vi.  108. 

■^  Idzd.  ii.  39  ;  Sadler,  i.  669,  670. 


THE   THIRD  RISING  69 

themselves,  and  sent  a  message  to  the  Lord  James  to 
that  effect.  As  has  been  said,  it  had  been  assigned  to 
Knox  to  conduct  the  correspondence  of  the  Protestants 
in  Fife.  This  message,  it  appears,  was  by  no  means 
to  his  mind,  and  he  addressed  a  letter  to  Chatelherault 
and  the  other  lords  in  which  he  stated  very  frankly  his 
opinion  both  of  this  proposal  and  of  their  conduct 
during  the  last  few  weeks.  When  their  brethren  in 
Fife  had  been  in  such  extremity,  they  had  made  no 
strenuous  effort  to  relieve  their  distress.  When  the 
enemy  in  their  late  retreat  had  lain  near  Stirling  in 
comparatively  small  numbers,  they  let  slip  the  oppor- 
tunity of  taking  them  at  a  disadvantage.  The  English 
fleet  had  now  been  in  the  Firth  fifteen  days,  yet  the 
Duke  and  his  friends  had  paid  them  no  more  attention 
than  if  they  had  been  their  mortal  enemies.  As  for 
the  proposal  that  the  Lord  James  should  proceed  to 
Carlisle  by  way  of  Glasgow,  it  was  too  absurd  to 
entertain.  At  that  moment  he  could  not  get  six 
honest  men  in  Fife  to  accompany  him.  Altogether, 
the  conduct  of  the  Duke  and  his  friends  had  been  so 
half-hearted  that  if  they  did  not  look  to  it,  the  ruin  of 
their  cause  could  not  be  far  off.^ 

Knox  carried  his  point ;  and  about  the  middle  of 
February  the  Lord  James,  accompanied  by  Lord 
Ruthven,  the  Master  of  Lindsay,  Henry  Balnaves, 
and  the  laird  of  Pittarro  sailed  from  Pittenweem  to 
Berwick-on-Tweed.^  The  agreement  was  concluded 
on  the  27th,  and  was  simply  a  bond  of  mutual  defence 

1  JVorkSjU.  40-42.  Knox's  suspicions  of  the  Duke  were  but  too  well- 
grounded.  On  the  25  th  of  January  he  wrote  a  cringing  letter  to 
Francis  II.  asking  pardon  for  his  past  doings,  and  promising  fidelity  for 
the  future.  The  Duke  afterwards  denied  having'  written  this  letter. — 
Teulet,  i.  407,  566,  567. 

"    Wodrow  Misc.  i.  79  ;   Knox,  ii.  45. 


70  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

against  the  French.  On  the  part  of  the  Scots  the 
preamble  stated  that  their  sole  reason  for  seeking  the 
compact  was  their  fear  of  France,  and  their  desire  for 
the  friendship  of  England.  Its  immediate  implication 
was  that  an  English  force  should  at  once  enter  Scot- 
land, and  assist  in  driving  the  French  out  of  Leith. 
Should  the  French  ever  invade  England,  the  Scots 
bound  themselves  to  lend  similar  assistance  to  Eliza- 
beth. As  has  been  more  than  once  said,  it  was  the 
fear  of  Elizabeth's  advisers  that  the  Congregation 
might  one  day  make  friends  with  their  old  allies  of 
France  and  turn  upon  England.  It  was  a  point 
gained,  therefore,  when  the  Scots  agreed  to  send 
hostages  to  England  to  remain  till  a  year  after  the 
dissolution  of  the  marriage  of  the  Scottish  queen  and 
Francis  II.  On  the  part  of  the  Scots  the  arrangement 
concluded  with  an  affirmation  of  their  allegiance  to 
their  natural  sovereigns,  in  so  far  as  they  should  rule 
in  accordance  with  the  ancient  laws  and  liberties  of 
Scotland.^ 

The  news  of  the  coming  English  army  again  threw 
Scotland  into  a  ferment.  As  now  appeared,  fortune 
was  no  longer  on  the  side  of  the  Regent.  Her  health 
had  long  been  precarious,  and  during  the  preceding 
autumn  the  rumour  went  more  than  once  that  she  was 
dead.  The  great  expedition  of  her  brother,  the 
Marquis  D'Elbceuf,  had  come  to  nothing — his  main 
fleet  having  been  driven  back  by  storms,  and  damaged 
so  severely  that  it  could  not  again  put  to  sea.  Nor 
was  the  French  government  in  a  position  to  spare 
any  of  its  resources  for  the  affairs  of  Scotland.     The 

1  In  a  draft  of  the  agreement  among  Cecil's  papers,  there  are  some 
words  bearing  on  rehgion,  which  do  not  appear  in  the  versions  given  by 
Knox  and  in  Rymer's  Foedera. — Froude,  vi.  327. 


THE   THIRD  RISING  71 

Protestants  at  home  were  showing  such  a  menacing 
face  that  civil  war  might  be  looked  for  any  day.^  The 
Regent  could  thus  look  for  no  immediate  assistance 
from  France,  and  her  only  course  in  view  of  the 
coming  English  army  was  to  entrench  herself  in  Leith 
till  her  affairs  should  take  a  more  promising  turn. 
Before  the  English  appeared,  however,  her  Council 
resolved  to  strike  one  more  blow  at  the  Congregation. 
On  the  7th  of  March  a  body  of  2000  foot  and  300 
horse  issued  from  Leith,  and  after  encamping  the  first 
night  at  Linlithgow,  marched  the  next  day  upon 
Glasgow,  The  Duke  and  the  other  lords  made  a 
rapid  flight  to  Hamilton,  and  left  the  town  defenceless. 
After  working  their  will  on  Glasgow,  the  French 
returned  with  all  speed  to  Linlithgow,  closely  followed 
by  Arran  with  a  troop  of  horse.  In  Linlithgow  they 
remained  above  a  week,  laying  hands  on  everything 
that  might  be  serviceable  in  the  siege  which  was 
before  them ;  and  on  the  29th  retired  within  the 
fortifications  of  Leith.  As  the  English  had  now 
crossed  the  Border,  the  Regent  at  her  special  request 
was  received  into  the  Castle  of  Edinburgh  with  a 
small  company,  among  whom  were  Archbishop 
Hamilton  and  the  Bishops  of  Dunkeld  and  Dunblane.^ 
On  their  side  the  Protestant  leaders  had  been 
doing  their  best  to  rouse  the  country  to  united  action 
against  the   French.      By   their  own  admission   their 

1  The  Congregation  were  in  close  communication  with  their  brother 
Protestants  in  France.  Thus  on  the  19th  of  January,  several  weeks, 
therefore,  before  the  conspiracy  of  Amboise,  Arran  and  the  Lord 
James  wrote  as  follows  to  Sadler  and  Crofts  :  "  We  are  assured  by  the 
ministers  of  France  that  the  whole  congregacions  are  secretly  resolved 
to  take  the  fields  uppon  a  daye,  alreadie  appoynted  in  all  parts,  with 
assistance  of  a  prince  of  the  Courte,  and  of  the  bloode  royall." — Sadler, 
i.  691. 

^    Wodrow  Misc.  i.  80,  81  ;  Diurnal  of  Occurrenls,  pp.  56,  57. 


72  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

appeals  had  been  but  partially  successful.  The  Lords 
of  the  West  had  proclaimed  a  gathering  at  Glasgow  on 
the  26th  of  March  ;  but  except  their  own  immediate 
followers  no  one  else  appeared.^  On  the  following 
day  they  made  a  last  appeal  to  all  patriotic  Scots  to 
meet  at  Prestonpans  and  unite  with  their  English  allies 
against  the  common  enemy.  In  this  proclamation 
there  is  no  mention  whatever  of  religion.  Love  of 
country,  revenge  for  past  injuries,  the  threat  of  greater 
oppression  to  come  —  these  are  the  sole  motives 
which  are  urged  for  the  taking  up  of  arms  against 
the  representative  of  their  sovereign. 

On  the  4th  of  April  the  English  and  Scottish 
forces  met  at  Prestonpans,  the  latter  10,000,  the 
former  9000  strong.  The  sight  was  certainly  a 
strange  one — Scot  and  Englishman  joined  in  common 
enmity  and  in  arms  side  by  side  against  France.  So 
strange,  indeed,  did  the  alliance  seem  that  men  could 
hardly  believe  that  it  would  come  to  good.  It  was 
not  yet  thirteen  years  since  the  battle  of  Pinkie  and 
the  misery  that  followed  it,  and  ever  since  Pinkie  the 
immemorial  strife  between  Scot  and  Englishman  had 
never  ceased  on  the  Border  counties.  It  was  difficult 
to  realise  that  the  hate  of  centuries  could  thus  be  so 
suddenly  transformed  into  good  fellowship  by  common 
interests  and  common  aspirations.     In  this  strangeness 

1  "Copie  of  the  Congregacion  Lettre  to  the  Lords  of  Scotland"  (Sadler, 
i.  713,  714).  It  is  curious  to  note  how  the  Reformers  of  the  sixteenth 
century  complain  of  the  unreasoning  conservatism  of  the  people.  Thus, 
the  Lords  of  the  Congregation  write  to  Crofts  (6th  August  1559): 
"  Ye  are  not  ignorant,  sir,  how  difficil  it  is  to  persuade  a  multitude  to  the 
revolt  of  an  Authoritie  established."  Buchanan,  in  his  De  Jure  Regni, 
has  the  following  passage  to  the  same  purport  :  "  Reliqua  est  imperita 
multitude,  quae  omnia  nova  miratur,  plurima  reprehendit,  neque 
quicquam  rectum  putat,  nisi  quod  ipsa  aut  facit,  aut  fieri  videt.  Qumttum 
em'!)i  a  consuetudine  majoruin  receditur,  taniuni  a  justo  et  aequo  recedi 
putat:'' 


THE   THIRD  RISING  Ti 

of  the  situation,  indeed,  we  must  find  the  explanation 
of  a  fact  that  naturally  surprises  us.  Alike  from  the 
testimony  of  the  Scots,  the  English,  and  the  French 
themselves,  we  gather  that  there  was  a  general  im- 
pression in  Scotland  that  France  was  aiming  at  the 
conquest  of  the  country.  Why  then,  we  ask,  did  not 
Scotland  rise  as  it  did  at  Pinkie  and  concentrate  its 
forces  on  the  invader  ?  The  only  adequate  explana- 
tion is  that  between  their  new  friends  and  new  enemies 
a  large  body  of  the  nation  could  not  make  up  their 
minds  to  act  with  decision.  They  could  hardly  per- 
suade themselves  that  the  English,  though  now  appar- 
ently their  best  friends,  had  not  some  ulterior  motive 
which  for  the  time  it  was  their  interest  to  conceal. 
Suppose  the  French  driven  from  the  country,  had 
they  any  assurance  that  England  would  not  take  their 
place  .'^  We  have  seen  that  the  English  government 
in  its  negotiations  with  the  Protestant  leaders  had 
always  before  it  the  probability  of  a  settlement  between 
the  Regent  and  the  Congregation.  On  their  side,  we 
shall  see  that  the  Congregation  had  equal  distrust  of 
the  English,  and  felt  a  lively  alarm  lest  England 
should  make  its  own  peace  with  France  and  take  no 
account  of  themselves.  Between  distrust  of  England 
and  hatred  of  France  Scotland  was  in  a  state  of 
indecision  which  made  impossible  the  unanimous 
action  of  its  people. 

Before  they  marched  on  Leith  the  Lords  of  the 
Congregation  made  one  last  appeal  to  the  Regent  to 
comply  with  their  demands.  In  a  letter  addressed  to 
her  from  Dalkeith  on  the  4th  of  April,  they  laid 
before  her  the  grounds  of  their  revolt,  and  the  reasons 
which  had  induced  them  to  call  in  the  assistance  of 
England.     In  this  document,  also,  there  is  no  reference 


74  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

to  religion.  All  they  now  ask  of  her  is  that  she  will 
dismiss  her  French  soldiers,  and  govern  the  country  in 
accordance  with  its  ancient  laws  and  by  the  advice  of 
native  counsellors.  Because  she  had  hitherto  refused 
to  comply  with  these  demands,  they  had  been  forced 
to  seek  help  from  England  in  driving  foreigners  from 
the  country.  While  they  had  taken  this  step,  however, 
they  would  never  cast  off  their  allegiance  to  their 
natural  sovereigns  so  long  as  they  did  not  trample  on 
the  rights  of  their  subjects.^  It  could  have  been  in  no 
hope  that  the  Regent  would  give  way  at  the  last  hour 
that  the  Lords  wrote  this  letter.  As  a  justification  at 
once  of  their  own  action  and  of  the  interference  of 
England,  however,  the  letter  was  a  form  which  it  was 
politic  not  to  have  passed  over. 

On  the  6th  of  April  the  two  armies  sat  down 
before  Leith  "with  such  quiett  and  peaceable  enter- 
teinment  betwixt  English  and  Scotts  that  it  was  a 
wonder."^  On  the  day  of  their  arrival  a  protracted 
skirmish  took  place  before  the  walls,  which  ended  in 
the  French  being  driven  back  into  the  town  with  con- 
siderable loss.  Lord  Grey,  the  English  commander, 
soon  found  that  he  had  no  easy  task  before  him. 
There  were  4000  trained  soldiers  in  Leith,  and  the 
wall  which  had  just  been  built  was  a  mile  long.^ 
Instead  of  8000  men,  the  largest  number^  that  Grey 
at  any  time  commanded,  20,000  would  not  have  been 
more  than  sufficient  for  the  successful  siege  of  a  town 

1  Buchanan,  pp.  322,  323.  On  24th  March  Elizabeth  had  published 
a  proclamation  explaining  her  motives  for  intervening  in  the  affairs  of 
Scotland. — -Haynes,  i.  268.      Cf.  also  Teulet,  i.  436. 

2  Wodroiv  Misc.  i.  83. 

3  Works,  ii.  61. 

^  This  is  Knox's  statement  {ibid).  On  28th  May  the  whole  army, 
English  and  Scots,  before  Leith,  was  reported  to  be  12,466. — Haynes, 
i.  348. 


THE  THIRD  RISING  75 

SO  fortified  and  manned.^  Even  the  forces  at  his  dis- 
posal could  not  be  depended  on  for  the  steady  work  of 
a  protracted  siege.  His  Scottish  allies,  who  could  not 
keep  the  field  longer  than  twenty  days  at  a  time,  con- 
tributed little  to  his  effective  strength.  As  they 
weaned  of  their  labours,  also.  Grey's  own  troops  fell 
off,  till  by  the  end  of  May  there  were  not  above  5000 
before  Leith."  Two  severe  checks  in  succession  also 
showed  that  in  discipline  and  organisation  the  English 
were  inferior  to  the  French.  On  the  14th  of  April  the 
besieged  made  a  sally  from  the  town,  broke  through 
the  enemies'  trenches,  and  slew  above  200  men.^  On 
the  7th  of  May  a  combined  assault  on  the  town  was 
repulsed  with  deadly  effect,  the  allies  leaving  800  dead 
and  wounded  in  the  trenches. 

Since  the  beginning  of  their  revolt  the  Lords  of 
the  Congregation  had  spared  no  labour  to  gain  the 
support  of  England.  Now  that  English  soldiers  were 
fighting  by  their  side,  however,  their  anxieties  were  far 
from  being  at  an  end.  Two  fears  were  before  them 
from  the  very  outset  of  the  siege.  The  English  might 
conclude  a  peace  with  France,  and  leave  them  to  fight 
it  out  themselves  with  the  Regent.  On  the  very  day 
of  the  encampment  before  Leith  an  incident  happened 
that  was  fitted  to  raise  their  suspicions.  At  the  request 
of  the  Regent,  Lord  Grey  had  sent  Sir  James  Crofts 
and  Sir  George  Howard  to  hold  an  interview  with  her 
in  the  Castle  of  Edinburgh.^  The  interview  apparently 
led  to  nothing ;  but,  as  it  proved.  Crofts  was  in  reality 
their  secret  enemy,  and  was  doing  all  he  could  to 
injure  them  with  the  English.     Their  other  fear  was 

1  Cal.     of    State     Papers     (Scotland),     14th     April     (Maitland    to 
Killigrew).  2  Haynes,  i.  346. 

3    Wodrow  Misc.  i.  83.  *  Ibid.  i.  82. 


76  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

that  in  the  prolonged  uncertainty  of  their  hopes  their 
party  could  not  long  resist  the  disintegrating  forces 
which,  within  and  without,  were  daily  working  against 
them.  A  personage  who  appeared  in  the  English 
camp  at  the  beginning  of  the  siege  gave  good  grounds 
for  their  uneasiness.^  This  was  Jean  de  Monluc, 
Bishop  of  Valence,  who  had  been  sent  by  the  French 
government  to  do  all  in  his  power  to  prevent  Elizabeth 
from  giving  help  to  the  Scots.  It  also  lay  in  his  mis- 
sion to  effect,  if  possible,  a  reconciliation  between  the 
Regent  and  the  Protestant  Lords."  Monluc  had  been 
chosen  for  these  ends  because  he  had  special  qualifica- 
tions for  bringing  them  about.  He  was  a  veteran 
diplomatist ;  ^  had  been  long  associated  with  the  affairs 
of  Scotland,^  and,  above  all,  was  favourably  disposed 
to  the  new  religion.^  On  his  arrival  in  the  camp  he 
came  and  went  between  the  Res:ent  and  the  Protestant 
leaders,  apparently  with  the  intention  of  effecting  a 
mutual  understanding.*^  In  the  position  in  which  both 
parties  now  stood  such  an  understanding  was  further 
off  than  ever.  What  the  Congregation  feared  was  that 
Monluc's  coming  and  going  between  them  and  the 
Castle  might  breed  suspicion  and  distrust  in  their  ranks 
and  break  up  their  party  before  they  were  aware.  At 
this  moment  there  were  two  powerful  nobles  whose 
adhesion  they  were  specially  anxious  to  secure — the 
Earl  of  Huntly  and  the  Earl  of  Morton.  These 
nobles  had  long  hesitated  between  the  Regent  and 
the  Congregation,  and  since  the  appearance  of  the 
English  had  been  sorely  put  to  it  to  determine  which 

1  Haynes,  i.  279.  -  Ibid.  i.  274. 

3  Brantome   describes    Monluc   as   "  fin,  deli6,   rinquant,   rompu   et 
corrompu,  autant  pour  son  sgavoir  que  pour  sa  pratique." 
*  As  early  as  1546. — Maitland  Misc.  i.  40,  215. 
5  Teulet,  i.  429,  note.  ^  Buchanan,  p.  323. 


THE   THIRD  RISING  77 

was  likely  to  prove  the  winning  side.^  On  the  whole, 
however,  they  had  lately  shown  a  disposition  to  take 
the  side  of  the  Protestant  Lords  against  the  Regent. 
To  consolidate  their  ranks,  therefore,  and  probably  to 
bring  Morton  and  Hundy  to  a  point,  the  Lords  of  the 
Congregation  took  what  was  their  invariable  step, — 
on  the  26th  of  April  they  drew  up  a  bond  of  mutual 
action  and  defence  against  all  who  resisted  their 
"godly  enterpryses." 

It  is  possible  that  this  bond  was  drafted  by  Knox, 
who  was  then  preaching  in  Edinburgh."  If  so,  it 
could  only  have  been  wrung  from  him  by  the 
exigencies  of  the  moment  when  it  was  produced. 
In  this  document  the  reformation  of  religion  has  a 
place  ;  but  the  terms  in  which  it  is  put  forward  are  so 
vague  that  a  good  Catholic  could  have  no  difficulty  in 
subscribing  them.  The  signatories  bind  themselves  to 
"sett  ford  wart  the  Reformatioun  of  Religioun  accord- 
ing to  Goddes  word,  and  procure  be  all  meanis  possibell 
that  the  treuth  of  Goddes  word  may  half  free  passage 
within  this  Realme,  with  ane  administratioun  of  the 
sacramentis,  and  all  thingis  depending  upoun  the  said 
word."^  In  the  contrast  between  these  vague  phrases 
and  the  unflinching  precision  of  previous  manifestoes, 
we  have  one  more  curious  illustration  of  the  friction  of 
circumstance  on  the  original  idea.  The  signatories 
further  took  oath  to  "  effectuallie  concur  and  joyne 
togidaer,  talking  anefald  plane  pairt  for  expulsioun  of 
the  said  strangeris,  oppressouris  of  oure  libertie  furth 
of  this  Realme,  and  recovery  of  oure  ancient  fredomis 
and  liberties."      The  origin  of  the  bond,  however,  is 

1  Cf.  Haynes,  i.  315-317- 

2  Works,   ii.   68. — Hay    Fleming,   Records  of  Kirk  Session  of  St. 
Andrews  (Scot.  Hist.  Soc.)  ;   Records  of  Town  Council  of  Edinburgh. 

2    Works,  ii.  61. 


78  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

doubtless  to  be  found  in  the  statement  that  "never 
one  of  us  sail  half  pryvey  intelligence  be  writting, 
message,  or  communicatioun  with  ony  of  oure  saidis 
ennemies  or  adversaries  in  this  cause,  bot  be  the  advise 
of  the  rest  (at  least  of  fyve)  of  the  Counsale."  Since 
the  deposition  of  the  Regent  the  Protestant  Lords  had 
always  given  themselves  out  as  the  provisional  ex- 
ecutive of  the  country,  and  in  the  present  bond  they  do 
not  forget  to  state  that  all  Scotsmen  who  oppose  their 
commands  will  be  held  as  enemies  of  the  State.  The 
immediate  object  of  the  bond  was  certainly  gained. 
Huntly  and  Morton  both  signed  it,  and  their  example 
brought  others  who  were  wavering  to  a  similar  de- 
cision.-^ 

All  the  parties  engaged  in  the  siege  of  Leith  were 
eager  for  a  peace  if  it  could  be  had  on  anything  like 
tolerable  terms.  The  Guises,  occupied  with  the  troubles 
that  had  followed  the  conspiracy  of  Amboise,  needed 
every  soldier  they  had,  and  could  send  no  help  to  their 
sister  in  Scotland.  Elizabeth  had  always  been  half- 
hearted in  her  support  of  the  Congregation,  and  the 
expenditure  of  men  and  money  before  Leith  made  her 
less  satisfied  than  ever  that  she  had  done  right  in 
Interfering  between  subjects  and  their  prince.  The 
Protestant  Lords  equally  desired  some  settlement, 
though  their  fears  increased  every  day  that  any  settle- 
ment proposed  would  not  meet  their  demands. 

The  eagerness  of  all  parties  for  the  conclusion  of 
hostilities  was  quickened  by  the  death  of  the  Regent 
in  the  Castle  of  Edinburgh  at  midnight  on  the  loth  of 
June.  Judged  by  the  consequences  of  her  rule,  Mary 
of  Lorraine  must  be  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant figures  In  the  history  of  Scotland.      More  than 

1  Works,  ii.  62,  63. 


THE  THIRD  RISING  79 

any  other  person,  it  will  have  appeared,  she  is  respon- 
sible for  the  revolution  that  ended  in  the  overthrow  of 
the  ancient  Church,  and  for  all  the  misfortunes  that 
pursued  her  daughter  till  the  last  hour  at  Fotheringay. 
From  the  death  of  her  husband,  James  V.,  she  had 
pursued  a  policy  which  at  different  times  placed  her  in 
opposition  to  every  interest  of  the  country  which  she 
governed.  Catholic  writers  have  given  her  their 
blessing  ;  but  this  can  only  be  because  she  professed 
the  Catholic  religion,  and  was  the  opponent  of  Knox 
and  the  Reformation.  In  the  interest  of  the  house  of 
Guise  she  had  favoured  Protestantism  at  the  expense 
of  the  old  religion  till  it  grew  to  be  a  power  in  the 
country  too  strong  for  her  to  put  under,  when  it  was 
her  policy  to  check  it  in  turn.  By  surrounding  herself 
with  French  counsellors  she  alienated  the  native 
nobility  in  such  degree  that,  when  the  hour  of  her  trial 
came,  she  could  not  depend  upon  their  loyalty.  In  the 
interests  of  her  own  family  she  even  forgot  her  own 
daughter,  and  bequeathed  to  her  a  legacy  of  troubles 
under  which  she  herself  had  sunk,  and  with  which 
Mary  Stewart  was  the  last  person  in  the  world  success- 
fully to  cope.  With  her  natural  firmness,  tact,  and 
self-command  we  can  see  how  different  a  turn  events 
might  have  taken  had  she  governed  the  country  in 
her  daughter's  interests,  and  not  in  the  interests  of  the 
family  of  Guise.  Had  she  been  content  to  remain  a 
private  person  she  might  have  maintained  a  balance 
of  interests  in  the  country  which  might  have  ensured 
the  continuance  of  the  old  order.  Had  she  allowed 
Arran  to  remain  in  the  Regency  she  would  have  had 
the  house  of  Hamilton  at  her  back,  and  Protestantism 
could  not  have  grown  into  the  power  it  did  throughout 
the  country.      In  other  countries  the  new  religion  had 


8o  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

been  crushed  by  the  ecclesiastical  and  secular  powers  ; 
and  united  action  in  Scotland  might  have  effected 
a  similar  result.  The  Hamiltons  could  not  have 
become  a  real  menace  to  her  daughter,  since  the  feel- 
ing of  the  country  would  never  have  permitted  their 
usurpation  of  the  royal  authority.  As  it  was,  her 
government  brought  about  results  which,  at  the 
moment  she  assumed  power,  would  have  seemed  in- 
credible to  the  most  far-seeing  observer.  Within  the 
five  years  she  ruled  the  country  she  converted  the 
national  predilection  for  France  into  fear  and  hatred, 
and  the  national  detestation  of  England  into  forbear- 
ance and  kindly  feeling.  In  truth,  at  her  death  the 
representatives  of  every  interest  in  the  country  had 
reason  to  say,  with  Knox,  that  she  was  "unhappy  .  .  . 
to  Scotland  fra  the  fyrst  day  sche  enterit  into  it  unto 
the  day  she  fynischeit  hir  unhappy  lyfe."^  To  Knox 
she  was  the  incarnation  of  every  principle  for  which 
the  kingdom  of  Antichrist  existed  on  earth,  and  in 
her  death  he  saw  the  divine  punishment  of  her  wilful 
closing  of  her  eyes  to  the  truth.  For  her  misfortunes 
and  long  suffering  from  a  painful  disease  he  has  no 
words  of  relenting.  He  records  with  triumph  how,  in 
her  last  hours,  she  consented  to  receive  Willock  and 
listen  to  his  ministrations,  and  how  she  professed  the 
Protestant  doctrine  of  salvation  through  the  death  of 
Christ.-  Yet  he  does  not  express  even  a  hope  that 
her  admission  might  stand  her  in  stead  where  she  had 
o-one.  Like  St.  Columba,  St.  Bernard,  and  other 
religious  leaders  of  the  same  type,  Knox  is  absolutely 
incapable  of  pity  or  sympathy  in  the  case  of  such  as  he 
thought  to  be  wilful  enemies  of  the  truth.  If  religion 
were  the  absolute  thing  they  believed  it  to  be,  beyond 

1    Works,  ii.  71.  -  Ibid. 


r 


ST.  GILES'  CHURCH,  EDINBURGH,   FROM  THE  NORTH-WEST,   BEFORE   1827 


THE  THIRD  RISING  8i 


a  doubt  their  very  relentlessness  was  the  highest  form 
of  piety.  To  show  relentings  towards  the  enemies  of 
God  was  to  trifle  with  the  eternal  salvation  of  their 
fellowmen. 

During  the  late  months  Knox  had  only  had  to  stand 
by  and  watch  the  results  which  he  had  been  one  of 
the  chief  agents  in  bringing  about.  Since  England 
had  been  led  to  interfere  in  the  affairs  of  Scotland,  the 
latter  country  had  been  fairly  swept  into  the  mid-stream 
of  European  politics.  All  the  great  powers — Spain, 
France,  and  England — had  their  respective  interests 
at  stake  in  the  issues  between  the  Congregation  and 
their  sovereigns.  During  the  siege  of  Leith,  Knox 
was  probably  in  Edinburgh  engaged  in  his  ordinary 
labours  of  preaching  and  exhorting  his  hearers  to 
soundness  of  faith  and  united  action,^  Directly,  he 
took  no  part  in  the  settlement  which  brought  the  long 
struggle  to  a  close,  yet  he  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing 
his  party  triumph  even  beyond  his  hopes.  That  the 
Congregation  triumphed  so  completely  he  could  with 
the  fullest  justice  largely  ascribe  to  his  own  inde- 
fatigable exertions  of  the  preceding  year. 

On  the  1 6th  of  June,  six  days  after  the  death  of 
the  Regent,  commissioners  from  England  and  France 
arrived  in  Scotland  with  powers  to  effect  an  under- 
standing between  the  three  contending  parties. 
England  was  represented  by  Cecil  and  Dr.  Wotton, 
Dean  of  Canterbury  and  York  ;  France  by  the  Bishop 
of  Valence  and  Charles  de  la  Rochefoucauld,  Sieur  de 
Randan.  There  were  numberless  difficulties  in  the 
way  of  an  agreement,  and  the  proceedings  were  more 
than  once  in  danger  of  being  broken  off  Cecil  was 
hampered    by     Elizabeth,    whose    uncertain     humour 

1    Works,  ii.  68. 
VOL.  II  6 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 


almost  drove  him  to  despair  ;  ^  and  it  was  the  absolute 
condition  on  which  the  French  commissioners  agreed 
to  open  the  proceedings,  that  the  treaty  under  con- 
sideration should  be  understood  to  be  between  England 
and  France.  The  Congregation  were  subjects  with 
whom  their  sovereign  would  in  nowise  agree  to  treat 
on  equal  terms.  Any  settlement  made  with  them  must 
be  understood  to  be  made  solely  at  the  intercession 
of  the  Queen  of  England.^  The  Lords  of  the  Con- 
gregation, thus  excluded  from  a  direct  part  in  the 
negotiations,  were  in  terror  lest  their  interests  should 
be  betrayed  by  the  English  commissioners.  In  reality 
they  had  little  ground  for  alarm,  as  every  concession 
made  in  their  favour  was  an  advantage  for  England 
over  France.  Cecil  and  Wotton  were  fully  aware  of 
this,  and  pressed  Monluc  and  De  Randan  to  the 
utmost  point  they  could  go  without  endangering  their 
own  separate  treaty  with  France.  Out  of  the  sixteen 
days  spent  in  the  conference,  three-fourths  of  the  time 
was  devoted  to  the  affairs  of  Scotland.^ 

The  treaty  was  signed  at  Edinburgh  on  the  6th  of 
July,  While  its  conditions  were  in  the  last  degree 
humiliating  to  France,*  England  gained  every  point  she 
could  reasonably  have  looked  for  when  she  interfered 
in  the  affairs  of  Scotland.^  Francis  and  Mary  were  to 
give  up  using  the  arms  of  England  ;  and  the  French 
troops  in  Scotland,  which  had  been  a  standing  menace 
to  England,  were  to  be  removed  from  the  country. 
The  concessions  made  to  the  Congregation  made  them 

1  Forbes,  i.  660,  661  (Cecil  to  Throgmorton,  22nd  May). 

2  Keith,  i.  294.      Keith  translates  the  text  of  the  Treaty  from  the 
original  Latin  given  by  Rymer. 

^   Haynes,  i.  336  (Cecil  to  Elizabeth). 

*  Francis  II.,  writing  to  the  Bishop  of  Limoges,  speaks  of  the  con- 
ditions as  "  dures  et  intolerables." — Teulet,  i.  606. 
5  Cf.  Froude,  vi.  399. 


THE   THIRD  RISING  83 

practically  the  masters  of  the  country.  A  general 
amnesty  was  granted ;  the  fortifications  of  Leith 
were  to  be  demolished  ;  the  French  troops  were  to  be 
sent  home  ;  ^  and  no  Frenchman  was  thenceforth  to 
hold  any  important  office.  During  the  absence  of 
Mary  the  country  was  to  be  governed  by  a  Council  of 
twelve,  of  whom  seven  were  to  be  chosen  by  the  Queen 
and  five  by  the  Estates.  A  Parliament  was  to  be 
summoned  for  the  loth  of  July,  and  all  its  acts  were 
to  be  held  as  valid  as  if  it  had  been  summoned  by 
the  King  and  Queen. ^  With  the  burning  question  of 
religion  the  commissioners  refused  to  deal ;  yet  they 
must  have  known  that  the  Scottish  nobility,  with  the 
powers  now  granted  to  them,  would  not  be  slow  to 
settle  the  question  for  themselves.^ 

Thus  by  the  Treaty  of  Edinburgh  the  Congrega- 
tion had  gained  every  point  for  which  they  had  origin- 
ally taken  up  arms.  In  the  beginning  of  the  struggle 
they  had  put  forward  religion  as  the  sole  ground  of 
their  revolt  against  the  Regent ;  but  they  discovered 
that  Protestantism  was  not  so  great  a  force  in  the 
country  as  they  had  supposed.  Moreover,  they  found 
that  if  they  were  to  justify  their  proceedings  to  the 
world,  and  above  all  to  gain  the  support  of  England,, 
they  must  plead  another  cause  for  open  rebellion. 
Nevertheless  the  fact  remains  that  it  was  out  of 
religion  that  the  struggle  arose,  and  that  it  was  the 
zeal  and  policy  of  Knox  and  the  Lords  of  the  Con- 
gregation which  were  mainly  instrumental  in  carrying 
it  to  a  successful  issue. 

1  With  the  exception  of  the  garrisons  of  Dunbar  and  Inchkeith. 

2  Keith,  i.  300.     The  ParHament  was  to  be  adjourned  from  the  loth 
July  till  the  ist  August. 

3  Elizabeth,  with  her  notions  on  Church  government,  could  not  be 
expected  to  approve  the  setting  up  of  the  Calvinistic  order  in  Scotland. 


CHAPTER    IV 

KNOX    AND    THE    RELIGIOUS    REVOLUTION 
I  560-1  561 

On  the  15th  of  July  the  French  forces  sailed  from 
Leith,  and  on  the  same  day  those  of  England  began 
their  march  towards  the  border.^  Four  days  later  the 
Cono^reoation  held  a  solemn  thankseivinQf  in  the  Church 
of  St.  Giles,  in  which  the  leading  part  was  assigned  to 
Knox.  In  view  of  the  great  events  in  the  near  future 
the  preachers  had  assembled  in  full  force,  and  were 
eagerly  pressing  on  the  Protestant  Lords  the  necessity 
of  an  immediate  religious  settlement.  As  in  all  his 
pulpit  deliverances,  Knox  seized  the  opportunity  of 
pointing  out  the  course  which,  as  a  nation  of  true 
worshippers,  they  were  bound  to  follow.  The  security 
of  the  late  victory,  he  knew,  depended  on  the  continued 
friendship  of  England,  and,  saving  always  the  purity 
of  religion,  that  friendship  must  be  maintained  at  all 
costs.  The  sermon  he  preached  has  not  been  re- 
corded, but  his  prayer  of  thanksgiving  at  its  close 
suggested  the  future  programme  of  the  Protestant 
party.  One  sentence  from  this  prayer  illustrates  his 
manner  of  combining  devotion  and  practical  politics. 
"And  seing  that  nathing  is  mair  odiouse  in  thy 
presence,  O   Lord,   than   is   ungratitud  and   violatioun 

1  Diur?Hil  of  Occiirrents,  pp.  60,  61. 


KNOX  AND  THE  RELIGIOUS  REVOLUTION  85 

of  ane  aith  and  convenant  maid  in  thy  name  ;  and 
seing  that  thou  hes  maid  our  confederatis  of  Ingland 
the  instrumentis  by  quhom  we  are  now  sett  at  this 
Hbertie,  to  quhom  we  in  thy  name  have  promeisit 
mutual!  fayth  agane  ;  lett  us  never  fall  to  that  unkynd- 
nes,  O  Lord,  that  ather  we  declair  oure  selfis  unthank- 
ful! unto  thame,  or  prophanaris  of  thy  holy  name."^ 

In  response  to  the  urgency  of  the  preachers  one 
step  was  immediately  taken  in  furtherance  of  the  new 
religion.  By  a  committee  composed  of  Commissioners 
of  Burghs,  and  of  certain  of  the  barons  and  nobility, 
the  leading  Protestant  ministers  were  assigned  special 
spheres  of  labour  in  different  parts  of  the  country. 
Doubtless  in  view  of  the  services  which  he  was  the 
fittest  man  to  render,  Knox  was  restored  to  his  former 
charge  in  the  Church  of  St.  Giles,^  At  no  previous 
period  of  his  career,  indeed,  was  Knox  called  to 
mightier  efforts  than  during  the  first  part  of  his 
ministry  in  Edinburgh.  In  accordance  with  the 
Treaty  of  Edinburgh,  Parliament  met  on  the  ist  of 
August,  though  its  members  were  not  in  full  attend- 
ance till  the  8th  of  that  month. ^  During  its  early 
meetings  Knox  preached  to  crowded  audiences  on 
the  prophecy  of  Haggai  regarding  the  rebuilding  of 
the  temple.  "The  doctrin,"  he  tells  us,  "was  proper 
for  the  tyme ;  in  applicatioun  quhairof  he  was  so 
special!  and  so  vehement,  that  sum  (having  greater 
respect  to  the  warld  than  to  Goddis  glory),  feilling 
thair  selffis  prickit,  said  in  mockage,  '  We  mon  now 
forget  our  selffis,  and  beir  the  barrow  to  buyld  the 
housses  of  God.'  "  ^ 

1    Works,  ii.  84-86.  2  /^/,/_  p.  37. 

3  Dhtrnal  of  Occierrenfs,  p.  61. 

*    Works,  ii.  88,  89.      Caldenvood,  doubtless  with  justice,  ascribes  the 
flout  to  Maitland. — Hist,  of  tJie  Kirk  of  Scotland,  ii.  12. 


86  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

The  efforts  of  Knox  and  his  fellow  -  preachers, 
however,  were  not  in  vain,  as  the  question  of  religion 
took  precedence  of  all  others  in  the  new  Parliament. 
Among  the  first  days  of  its  meeting  there  was  laid 
before  it  a  "  Supplicatioun,"  signed  by  barons,  gentle- 
men, burgesses,  and  others,  in  which  the  Estates  were 
called  upon  to  deal  summarily  with  the  old  religion 
and  its  representatives.  On  the  ground  of  false 
doctrine,  dishonoured  sacraments,  the  impiety  of  the 
papal  claims,  the  clergy  are  to  be  "  decernit  unworthy 
of  honour,  authoritie,  charge,  or  cure  within  the  Kyrk 
of  God,  and  sa  from  hencefurth  never  to  joy  vote  in 
Parliament."^  From  the  constitution  of  the  new 
Parliament  there  could  be  little  doubt  as  to  how  its 
vote  would  go.  As  was  to  be  expected  from  the 
special  circumstances  in  which  it  met,  its  numbers 
were  far  beyond  the  average  attendance  on  ordinary 
occasions."  The  nobles  had  not  appeared^  in  such 
force  for  many  a  day.^  An  unusual  element,  also,  was 
the  numerous  body  of  smaller  barons  or  lairds,  whom 
their  zeal  for  the  reformed  religion  had  induced  to  quit 
their  homes,  and  be  at  the  charges  of  a  few  weeks 
in  the  capital.  So  strange  was  the  appearance  of 
these  lairds  in  the  assembly  that  a  discussion  actually 
arose  as  to  their  right  to  sit  as  national  representatives, ** 
and  it  had  to  be  pointed  out  to  the  house  that  their 
right  went  so  far  back  as  the  reign  of  James  I.^     A 

1  IVor/cs,  ii.  92. 

2  In  the  instructions  given  to  the  Lord  St.  John,  who  was  sent  by 
the  Estates  to  Mary,  it  is  stated  that  there  were  present  "  the  Duke 
and  thirteen  earls,  the  Archbishop  of  St.  Andrews  and  five  bishops, 
nineteen  lords,  twenty  ecclesiastics,  as  well  abbots  as  priors,  the  com- 
missioners of  twenty-two  burghs,  a  hundred  and  ten  barons,  and  many 
others." — Teulet,  i.  614. 

•^  Randolph  to  Cecil,  15th  August  1560. 

*  3u/.  19th  August  1560.  5   jn  1427. 


KNOX  AND  THE  RELIGIOUS  REVOLUTION  87 

more  formidable  objection  was  raised  as  to  the  legality 
of  the  present  meeting  of  the  Estates.  Could  a  Parlia- 
ment be  called  a  legal  assembly,  for  which  the  sovereign 
had  issued  no  writs,  and  at  which  she  neither  was 
present  in  her  own  person  nor  was  represented  by  any 
commissioner  ?  This  was  a  natural  objection  to  be 
raised  by  the  minority,  who  looked  with  dread  to  the 
impending  legislation  ;  but  the  objection  was  a  legal 
quibble,  by  which  a  revolutionary  assembly  was  not 
likely  to  be  turned  aside  from  its  deliberate  purpose. 
In  accordance  with  the  Treaty  of  Edinburgh  a  Parlia- 
ment had  duly  met  on  the  ist  of  August.  The  treaty 
had  been  signed  on  the  6th  of  July,  and  since  that 
date  there  had  been  time  for  a  royal  commissioner 
to  arrive  in  Scotland.^  But  by  the  very  fixing  of 
the  meeting  of  the  Estates  at  so  early  a  date  it  had 
been  implied  that  no  commissioner  was  needed  to 
constitute  the  meeting  a  legal  assembly.  It  may  be 
regarded,  therefore,  as  a  curious  proof  of  their  regard 
for  forms  of  law  that  the  overwhelminof  Protestant 
majority  gave  a  full  week  to  the  discussion  of  this 
trivial  objection  of  their  opponents. 

These  preliminaries  over,  the  Estates  proceeded 
to  consider  the  petition  regarding  religion.  It  was 
decided  that  the  representatives  of  the  new  faith  should 

1  There  has  been  much  discussion  as  to  the  legahty  of  this  meeting 
of  the  Scottish  Estates  ;  but,  as  we  have  seen,  the  question  is  set  at 
rest  by  certain  letters  of  Francis  II.  himself  (Teulet,  i.  606,  607  ;  De 
Ruble,  La  Jeunesse  de  Marie  Stuart,  pp.  312,  313).  From  these  letters 
it  distinctly  appears  that  Francis  regarded  the  Treaty  of  Edinburgh  as 
perfectly  valid,  though  he  felt  keenly  its  hard  conditions.  But  if  the 
Treaty  of  Edinburgh  was  valid,  its  terms  necessarily  imply  the  legality 
of  the  Parliament  of  August.  We  shall  see  that  at  a  later  date  Francis 
raised  another  objection  to  that  legality.  The  details  of  the  various 
negotiations  that  led  up  to  the  Treaty  of  Edinburgh  are  fully  discussed 
by  Dr.  Ernst  Bekker  in  his  Beitrdge  zur  etiglischcn  Geschichte  im 
Zeitalter  Elizabeths  (Giessen,  1887). 


LIFE   OF  JOHN  KNOX 


draw  up  a  statement  of  their  own  doctrines,  which 
might  enhghten  Parhament  in  its  deaHngs  with  all 
matters  of  ecclesiastical  policy.  The  task  was  one 
of  easy  execution  for  Knox  and  his  colleagues.  The 
mysteries  of  their  faith  were  the  subjects  of  their 
daily  talk  and  meditation,  and  the  drafting  of  creeds 
was  a  familiar  occupation  of  the  Protestant  theologians 
of  the  sixteenth  century.  Only  a  year  before,  one 
other  confession  had  been  added  to  the  already 
abounding  symbols  of  Protestantism.  In  May  1559 
the  Huguenot  ministers  had  met  in  Paris,  and  in  the 
space  of  three  days  had  embodied  their  creed  and 
discipline  in  a  series  of  eighty  articles.^  In  four  days 
the  Scottish  ministers  completed  their  task,  in  which, 
as  we  may  believe,  Knox  had  a  principal  part."  In 
accordance  with  the  rules  of  Parliamentary  business, 
the  new  Confession  came  first  before  the  Lords  of  the 
Articles,  who,  after  hearing  the  opinion  of  Knox  and 
Willock  on  the  one  side,  and  of  certain  bishops  on 
the  other,  transmitted  it  to  the  assembled  Estates.^ 
There  it  might  have  been  expected  that  the  supporters 
of  the  old  order  would  have  made  a  stand  worthy  of 
their  cause  and  the  greatness  of  the  occasion.  The 
adoption  of  the  new  creed  meant  the  setting  up  of 
another  religion  and  the  overthrow  of  a  Church  which 
for  centuries  had  been  an  organic  part  of  the  national 
life,  yet  in  this  crisis  of  its  fate  not  one  champion  was 
forthcoming  to  grace  its  fall  with  a  protest,  which, 
though  unavailing,  would  have  reminded  men  of  the 

1  Theodore  de  B^ze,  Histoire  Ecch'siastique  des  Eglises  Ri'formces 
au  Royaiane  de  France^  i.  1 09-1 21  (Lille,  1841). 

2  The  ministers  charged  to  prepare  the  Book  of  DiscipHne  were 
Knox,  Wynram,  Spottiswoode,  Willock,  Douglas,  and  Row  {Works,  ii. 
128).  It  is  probable  that  the  same  persons  drafted  the  Confession  of 
Faith.  ^  Randolph  to  Cecil,  i  5th  August. 


KNOX  AND  THE  RELIGIOUS  REVOLUTION  89 

heinousness  of  the  act  to  which  they  were  about  to 
lay  their  hands/  Article  by  article  the  Confession 
was  read  before  the  House,  and  the  vote  successively 
taken. ^  As  it  was  expected  that  certain  of  the  church- 
men might  raise  difficulties  regarding  the  doctrines  of 
the  Confession,  preachers  were  present  throughout  the 
proceedings  to  meet  the  arguments  of  their  opponents. 
But  the  presence  of  the  preachers  was  hardly  necessary. 
The  Bishops  of  Sl  Andrews,  Dunkeld,  and  Dunblane 
raised  a  protesting  voice,  but  with  so  little  heart  in 
what  they  said  that  they  seemed  to  give  away  the 
cause  of  which  they  were  the  natural  defenders.  Amid 
enthusiasm,  which  in  the  case  of  many  of  those  present 
was  beyond  question  the  legitimate  joy  at  the  triumph 
of  a  good  cause,  the  Confession  was  ratified  and  ap- 
proved by  an  overwhelming  majority  of  the  Estates. 
In  the  minority  only  five  lay  peers  and  three  bishops 
are  mentioned  as  having  lodged  their  dissent.^  "  I 
never   heard,"   wrote   Randolph   to   Cecil ;    "  I    never 

^  In  a  letter  to  Bishop  Keith,  Father  Innes  has  the  following 
sentence  regarding  the  conduct  of  the  Catholic  bishops  on  this  occasion, 
"  As  for  most  of  the  other  Bishops,  what  could  be  expected  from  men 
that,  by  anything  that  yet  appear'd,  made  not  so  much  as  a  protesta- 
tioun  for  their  religion  and  calling  in  the  pretended  Parliament  of 
1560?"^ — Quoted  by  Joseph  Robertson,  Stat.  Scot.  Eccles.  i.  xii. 
note. 

2  The  reading  and  the  voting  took  place  on  different  days. — 
Works.,  ii.  121. 

^  Knox  specially  names  the  Earl  of  Atholl,  and  the  Lords  Somer- 
ville  and  Borthwick  (ii.  121)  ;  and  Randolph,  the  Earls  of  Cassillis  and 
Caithness,  the  Archbishop  of  St.  Andrews,  and  the  Bishops  of  Dunkeld 
and  Dunblane  (Randolph  to  Cecil,  19th  August  1560).  In  the 
Hamilton  Papers  (ii.  748)  there  is  an  interesting  statement  regarding  the 
relative  strength  of  parties  in  1560.  It  is  in  the  form  of  a  list  of  the 
most  influential  persons,  (i)  who  favoured  the  Congregation,  (2)  who 
stood  neutral,  and  (3)  who  were  faithful  to  the  Crown.  In  another 
list  the  various  districts  of  the  country  are  similarly  assorted  accord- 
ing to  their  religious  and  political  sympathies.  In  several  points, 
however,  these  lists  conflict  with  what  we  know  from  trustworthy 
authorities. 


90  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

heard  matters  of  so  great  import,  neither  sooner 
despatched  nor  with  better  will  agreed  to."^ 

But  the  passing  of  the  new  Confession  was  only 
preliminary  to  the  real  work  of  revolution.  A  week 
later  the  fabric  of  the  Church  itself  was  the  matter 
in  question.  Three  Acts,  all  passed  in  one  day,  did 
the  work  of  destruction  as  completely  as  such  work 
could  be  done  by  mere  legislation.  By  the  first  of 
these  Acts  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Pope  was  abolished  ; 
by  the  second,  all  doctrine  and  practice  contrary  to 
the  new  creed  was  condemned  ;  and  by  the  third,  the 
celebration  of  mass  was  forbidden  within  the  bounds 
of  Scotland.  The  penalties  attached  to  the  contra- 
vention of  these  Acts  gave  portentous  proof  that  the 
legislators  were  in  all  earnest  in  their  work.  To  say 
or  hear  mass  was  for  the  first  offence  to  incur  con- 
fiscation ;  for  the  second,  exile  ;  for  the  third,  death. ^ 

The  work  of  Knox's  life  seemed  thus  to  be  accom- 
plished, but  none  knew  better  than  he  the  uncertain 
foundation  on  which  it  rested.  The  future  of  the 
reformed  religion  was,  for  good  or  ill,  inextricably  bound 
up  with  the  Councils  of  England  and  France.  So 
long  as  the  Scottish  Queen  was  under  the  dominion 
of  the  family  of  Guise,  hostility  secret  or  open  was 
always  to  be  reckoned  with  on  the  part  of  the  latter 
country.  With  France,  therefore,  Knox  was  in 
constant  communication.  Through  persons  connected 
with  the  French  Court,  and  through  the  ministers  of 
the  Huguenot  churches,  he  received  regular  informa- 
tion regarding  afiairs  in  France,  which  he  duly  com- 
municated to  the  Protestant  Lords.  It  was  through 
Knox  that  they  first  learned  the  death  of  Henry  H., 

1  Randolph  to  Cecil,  19th  August  1560. 
2  Act.  Pari.  Scot.  vol.  ii.  24th  August  1560. 


KNOX  AND  THE  RELIGIOUS  REVOLUTION  91 

and,  as  we  shall  presently  see,  it  was  through  Knox 
that  they  were  first  made  aware  of  a  still  more  im- 
portant event. ^ 

With  France  in  the  meantime  the  Scottish  Estates 
had  one  piece  of  business  to  transact  which  could  only 
lead  to  renewed  misunderstanding  and  recrimination. 
By  a  clause  in  the  Treaty  of  Edinburgh  "some 
persons  of  quality  "^  were  to  be  despatched  to  France 
for  the  ratification  of  whatever  Acts  might  be  passed 
in  the  Scottish  Parliament.  In  their  dealings  with 
this  clause  the  Protestant  leaders  showed  either  how 
little  importance  they  attached  to  it  or  how  little  they 
expected  from  obeying  it.  On  the  24th  of  August 
the  Parliament  designated  Sir  James  Sandilands,  Lord 
St.  John,  as  the  person  to  submit  its  doings  to  Mary 
and  Francis;^  yet  he  did  not  set  out  on  his  journey 
till  the  23rd  of  September."^  Whatever  representatives 
might  have  been  sent,  it  is  difficult  to  think  that  the  two 
sovereigns  could  have  set  their  hand  to  the  revolution- 
ary measures  of  this  Parliament.  But  by  sending 
only  the  Lord  St.  John  the  Scottish  Estates  both 
touched  the  pride  of  their  sovereigns,  and  gave  them 
an  excuse  for  refusing  to  ratify  the  measures  sub- 
mitted to  them.^  After  being  kept  hanging  about  the 
French  Court   for   more   than   two   months,   St.  John 

1    IVof-Jcs,  ii.  137,  138.  -   Keith,  i.  306. 

3  A  a.  Pari.  Scot. 

^  Diurnal  of  Occicrre7tts,  p.  62. 

^  From  the  instructions  given  to  Sandilands  it  would  appear  that 
the  Estates  had  the  intention  of  sending  certain  nobles  as  deputies  at  a 
later  date  (Teulet,  Instructions  dottne'es  a  Monsieur  de  Saint-Jc/ian  par  Ics 
Trois  Estats  du  royaume  d^Escoce,  i.  615).  There  was,  indeed,  excellent 
reason  for  not  sending  deputies  of  high  rank  to  France.  There  was  not 
a  Catholic  or  Protestant  noble  in  Scotland  whose  conduct  during  the 
preceding  two  years  had  given  satisfaction  to  Francis  and  Mary. 
According  to  Buchanan,  St.  John  was  chosen  because  he  had  stood 
aloof  during  the  late  months. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 


returned,  as  had  been  fully  expected,  with  his  object 
unaccomplished.  "But  that,"  says  Knox,  "we  litill 
regarded,  or  yit  do  regarde  ;  for  all  that  we  did  was 
rather  to  schaw  our  debtfull  obedience,  than  to  bege  of 
thame  any  strenth  to  our  Religioun,  whiche  from  God 
hes  full  powar,  and  neideth  nott  the  suffrage  of  man, 
but  in  so  far  as  man  hath  neid  to  beleve  it,  yf  that  ever 
he  shall  have  participatioun  of  the  lyfe  everlasting."^ 

Very  different  from  this  cool  attitude  towards 
France  were  the  eager  approaches  made  to  England. 
As  has  already  been  mentioned,  the  marriage  of 
Elizabeth  and  the  Earl  of  Arran  had  been  mooted  in 
the  autumn  of  the  preceding  year.  To  Cecil  and  Throg- 
morton,"  as  well  as  to  the  Lords  of  the  Congregation, 
it  had  seemed  that  this  union  was  in  the  best  interest 
of  both  countries.  So  pressing  did  the  Estates 
consider  the  matter,  that  at  an  early  meeting  they 
appointed  an  embassy  to  carry  their  desires  to  the 
English  Court.  The  alliance,  it  would  seem,  not  only 
commended  itself  to  the  Protestant  leaders  and  the 
family  of  the  Hamiltons,  but  also  to  the  most 
influential  of  the  Catholic  clergy.  The  order  for  the 
commission  was  signed  by  the  Archbishop  of  St. 
Andrews,  who  might  see  his  own  family  interests 
served  in  the  union  ;  but  it  was  also  signed  by  other 
churchmen,  and  notably  by  the  bishops  of  Dunkeld 
and  Dunblane."'  As  a  check  to  future  encroachments 
of  France,  indeed,  it  may  have  seemed  to  these 
bishops  that  the  alliance  was  one  which  a  patriotic 
Scotsman  could  cordially  approve.  Into  this  project, 
however,   no  one  threw   himself  more    heartily  than 

1  Works,  ii.  126. 

2  Throgmorton  openly  advocated  the  marriage,  and  Cecil  secretly 
approved  it. — Cf.  Froude,  chap,  xxxix.  ^  Keith,  ii.  7-8. 


KNOX  AND  THE  RELIGIOUS  REVOLUTION  93 

Knox.  He  had  maintained  from  the  beginning-  that 
England  and  Scotland  must  stand  side  by  side  if  the 
truth  was  to  prevail  in  either  of  the  two  countries  ; 
and  in  the  proposed  marriage  he  saw  the  surest  pledge 
that  things  would  turn  out  as  he  prayed.  Of  Arran, 
moreover,  he  had  formed  hopes  which  were  not  to  be 
realised.  At  this  time,  he  writes,  the  Earl  "was  in 
no  small  estimatioun  with  us  "  ;^  and,  as  several  cir- 
cumstances prove,  Knox  was  his  closest  counsellor 
both  in  spiritual  and  temporal  matters.  But  though 
the  Estates  did  all  in  their  power  to  effect  the  desired 
union,  the  result  did  not  meet  their  wishes.  The 
Commission,  consisting  of  the  Earls  of  Morton  and 
Glencairn,  and  Maitland  of  Lethington,  accompanied 
by  a  train  of  fifty-four  horsemen,  set  out  on  the  nth 
and  1 2th  of  October,^  and  were  graciously  received  at 
the  English  Court.  They  did  not  return  till  the  3rd 
of  January  in  the  following  year  f  but  the  result  of 
their  mission  was  not  long  in  being  divined.  Elizabeth 
expressed  her  gratitude  for  the  good  will  of  the 
Scottish  Estates,  heartily  echoed  their  desires  for  the 
continued  friendship  of  the  two  countries,  but  did  not 
find  herself  "  presently  disposed  to  marry."^ 

During  the  closing  months  of  1560,  Knox  bore 
his  full  burden  of  all  that  was  doing  in  politics  and 
religion.  One  of  the  duties  laid  on  the  ministers  by 
the  late  Parliament  was  "to  draw  in  a  volume  the 
Polecy  and  Disciplyn  of  the  Kirk,  as  weill  as  thei  had 
done  the  Doctrin."^     The  task  was  one  of  far  greater 

1    Works ^  ii.  130. 

-  Diurnal  of  Occurrents,  pp.  62,  63.  3  /^^^v/,  p.  5^. 

■^  Keith,  ii.  9-1 1,  where  Elizabeth's  reply  to  the  Scottish  Estates  is 
given  in  full. 

^  Works,  ii.  128.  As  we  shall  see,  the  same  commission  had  been 
given  at  an  earlier  date. — Ibid.  ii.  182. 


94  ■  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 


difficulty  than  the  drawing  up  of  a  Confession  of  Faith. 
To  draft  an  adequate  scheme  of  church  government, 
as  it  was  conceived  in  the  sixteenth  century,  was  in  itself 
a  formidable  undertaking.  But,  as  the  reception  of 
the  book  proved,  there  were  other  difficulties  inherent 
in  the  task,  which  demanded  all  the  boldness  and  tact 
that  lay  in  Knox  and  his  brother  ministers.  As  the 
document  was  to  be  submitted  to  the  next  meeting  of 
the  Estates,  therefore,  it  doubtless  engrossed  the 
thoughts  of  Knox  and  his  friends  in  the  interval. 
Another  task  had  been  assigned  exclusively  to  Knox:^ 
this  was  to  produce  a  narrative  of  the  doings  of  the 
Congregation  from  which  the  world  might  judge  what 
had  been  the  real  character  of  all  their  endeavours.  In 
his  History  of  the  Refomnation  in  Scotland,  into  which 
his  narrative  eventually  grew,  Knox  justified  the 
choice  of  his  fellow- confessors  by  a  work  which  is 
the  literary  monument  of  the  revolution  which  it  com- 
memorates. Begun  in  the  autumn  of  the  previous 
year,^  it  was  now  one  of  the  labours  of  Knox's  life 
to  see  that  it  was  accomplished  in  a  manner  worthy  of 
its  theme. 

During  the  period  of  which  we  are  speaking  public 
cares  and  private  sorrow  brought  a  full  reaction  to 
Knox  after  the  triumph  of  the  Parliament  of  August. 
The  refusal  of  Elizabeth  to  consider  the  Arran  marriage 
woke  both  fear  and  indignation  in  the  Protestant  party 
in  Scotland.^  England,  they  found,  had  gained  all  she 
wished  by  the  Treaty  of  Edinburgh,  and,  considering 
the  costs  of  her  late  interference  in  Scottish  affairs,  was 
not  likely  to  renew  them  in  the  event  of  fresh  efforts 
on  the  part  of  France.      In  their  refusal  to  ratify  the 

1  Randolph  to  Cecil,  23rd  September  1560. 
2    IVorl's,  vi.  87.  -^  Randolph  to  Cecil,  passvn. 


^> 


KNOX  AND  THE  RELIGIOUS  REVOLUTION  95 

late  treaty,  Francis  and  Mary  showed  that  they  were 
only  waiting  their  opportunity  to  recover  their  lost 
ground  in  Scotland  ;  and  their  friends  were  busy  sow- 
ing disunion  among  the  Scottish  nobles,  certain  of  whom 
were  giving  serious  alarm  by  their  evident  leaning  to 
France.  Lord  Ruthven  was  only  half-hearted  in  the 
cause  of  the  new  religion,  and  the  great  Earl  of  Huntly 
was  kept  in  check  only  by  a  coalition  of  powerful  barons 
specially  formed  against  himself^  The  rumour  went 
also  that  the  following  spring  would  see  a  French  army 
in  Scotland  which  would  finally  crush  the  national 
independence.  "  The  certane  knowledge  of  all  these 
thingis,"  writes  Knox,  "come  to  our  earis,  whairat 
many  were  effrayed.  The  principall  conforte,"  he 
adds,  "remaned  with  the  preachouris  "  ; '"  and  among 
these  preachers,  as  we  know  from  the  letters  of 
Randolph,  none  was  more  fervent  than  Knox  himself. 
To  Knox's  public  anxieties  was  now  added  a 
private  loss  which  in  his  advanced  years  was  the 
heaviest  that  could  have  befallen  him.  His  wife, 
Marjorie  Bowes,  died  leaving  him  with  two  young 
children,  with  only  his  mother-in-law  to  fill  her  place. 
Since  her  return  to  Scotland  we  have  seen  that  she 
had  been  an  invaluable  helpmate  in  all  his  labours. 
From  the  terms  in  which  he  always  refers  to  her  we 
gather  that  their  union  had  been  one  of  cordial  respect 
and  affection.  Their  mutual  regard  must  have  lain  in 
that  attraction  of  opposite  types  which  is  the  most  solid 
basis  of  permanent  understanding  in  all  family  relations. 
The  charm  and  sweetness  of  her  character,  to  which 
the  austere  Calvin  himself  bears  testimony,^  was  pre- 

1  Randolph  to  Cecil,  7th  and  23rd  September. 

2  Works,  ii.  132. 

2  Calvin  speaks  of  her  as  suavissitna.      In  a'  letter  to  Knox  he  also 


96  LIFE   OF  JOHN  KNOX 

cisely  the  force  which  would  insensibly  sway  the  stormy 
temper  and  imperious  will  of  her  husband.  Knox  has 
but  one  brief  reference  to  his  bereavement ;  but  we 
may  believe  that  the  passing  of  that  gentle  presence 
from  his  home  made  his  step  the  heavier  during  the 
years  that  were  still  before  him. 

An  event  of  the  first  importance,  not  only  for 
Scotland  but  for  Christendom,  roused  Knox  in  the 
depths  of  his  private  sorrow.  On  the  5th  of  Decem- 
ber Francis  II.,  the  husband  of  Mary  Stewart,  died 
suddenly  at  Orleans.  Through  his  correspondents 
in  France,  Knox  was  the  first  to  hear  the  welcome 
news,  and  made  haste  to  communicate  it  to  the  Pro- 
testant chiefs.  Proceeding  to  the  Kirk  of  Field  to 
the  residence  of  the  Duke  of  Chatelherault,  he  found 
him  closeted  with  the  Lord  James,  both  being  as  yet 
ignorant  of  the  momentous  intelligence.  Each  in  his 
own  way,  these  three  individuals  were  the  most  im- 
portant persons  then  within  the  bounds  of  Scotland  ; 
and  on  their  action  depended,  in  great  measure,  many 
of  the  issues  opened  up  by  the  death  of  the  French 
King.  As  was  to  be  expected  from  their  different 
characters  and  interests,  they  did  not  see  eye  to  eye  on 
the  questions  they  discussed.  According  to  Knox  they 
reasoned  "in  diverse  purposes;  and  he  upoun  the 
one  hand  conforting  thame,  and  thei  upoun  the  other 
parte  conforting  him  (for  he  was  in  no  small  heaviness 
be  reassone  of  the  late  death  of  his  dear  bedfellow, 
Marjorie  Bowes.")  ^ 

From  his  knowledge  of  affairs  in  France,  Knox 
was    fully   aware    of   the    deliverance    that    had    been 

writes  :    "  Uxorem    nactus    eras    cui    non    reperiuntur   passim   similes." 
Both  of  the  letters  in  which  these  expressions  occur  are  given  by  Laing 
in  the  sixth  volume  of  Knox's  Works^  pp.  123,  etc. 
1    Works,  ii.  138. 


KNOX  AND  THE  RELIGIOUS  REVOLUTION  97 

wrought  by  the  death  of  the  French  King.  The 
Guises,  he  knew,  must  now  cease  to  control  the 
counsels  of  France.  Whatever  policy  Mary  should 
mark  out  for  herself,  therefore,  she  would  no  longer 
have  behind  her  the  armies  of  France  directed  by  that 
family.  Nevertheless,  it  was  of  the  first  importance 
that  the  young  Queen  should  be  won  over  to  the  cause 
that  had  triumphed  in  the  Treaty  of  Edinburgh  and  in 
the  late  Parliament.  As  a  means  to  this  end,  Knox 
entered  into  a  scheme  which,  in  the  light  of  subsequent 
events,  is  an  odd  enough  passage  in  his  history.  On 
the  Earl  of  Arran,  as  has  been  said,  Knox  had  come 
to  centre  the  hopes  of  the  Protestant  party.  He  had 
looked  to  the  Earl's  marriage  with  Elizabeth  as  the 
salvation  of  all  the  interests  he  had  at  heart.  That 
prospect  having  miscarried,  it  now  seemed  to  him  that 
a  union  between  Arran  and  Mary  might  lead  to  equally 
favourable  issues.  At  this  time,  as  Knox  is  careful  to 
inform  us  in  speaking  of  Mary,  men  suspected  not  her 
nature  ;  ^  and  he  probably  thought  that  a  girl  of  eighteen 
would  offer  no  formidable  obstacle  to  fitting  counsellors. 
Arran  himself  was  apparently  better  pleased  with  the 
prospect  of  this  union  than  the  other,  and  lost  no  time 
in  taking  steps  to  bring  it  to  a  point.  Before  the 
French  King  was  a  month  dead,  he  secretly  despatched 
to  Mary  a  letter  and  a  ring  with  overtures  she  could 
not  misunderstand.  The  whole  scheme,  as  it  ajDpears, 
did  not  commend  itself  to  the  other  Protestant  leaders, 
since  Knox  alone  was  privy  to  it.-  But  Mary  had 
conceived  a  future  far  different  from  that  which  Knox 
had  imagined  for  her.  By  the  date  when  Arran's 
message  reached  her,  it  was  already  a  possibility  in 
European  politics   that  she   should  sit  on   a  prouder 

1    Works,  ii.  142.  -   Randolph  to  Cecil,  3rd  January  1561. 

VOL.   II  7 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 


throne  than  that  from  which  she  had  been  forced  to 
descend.^  Mary,  therefore,  could  have  no  hesitation 
regarding  the  proposals  of  Arran,  and  her  reply  was 
such  that  "  he  maid  no  further  persuyte  in  that  mater."  ^ 
As  the  Earl's  confidant  in  this  second  miscarriage  of 
his  matrimonial  enterprises,  Knox  further  puts  it  on 
record  that  "  he  bare  it  heavelie  in  harte,  and  more 
heavelie  than  many  wold  have  wissed."  ^ 

Mary's  decisive  rejection  of  Arran  must  have 
warned  Knox  that  she  had  definite  notions  of  her  own 
regarding  her  future.  Should  she  choose  to  identify 
herself  with  the  Catholic  party  in  Scotland,  her  return 
would  be  an  ominous  contingency  with  which  the 
Protestants  would  do  well  to  reckon.  The  old 
religion  had  still  a  numerous  and  powerful  following 
to  which  the  presence  of  the  Queen  would  communi- 
cate fresh  strength  and  spirit.  Another  far-sighted 
observer  besides  Knox  was  satisfied  that  the  death  of 
Francis  was  not  so  complete  a  deliverance  as  their 
party  imagined.  In  the  councils  of  the  Protestant 
leaders  Maitland  reminded  them  that  their  present 
position  was  far  from  being  assured,  and  that  the 
dangers  they  had  so  lately  left  behind  might  any  day 
again  stare  them  in  the  face.*  From  the  pulpit  Knox 
spoke  to  the  same  effect,  and  strove  to  rouse  his  hearers 
from  their  false  security.^  Knox,  indeed,  had  even  less 
reason  than  Maitland  to  be  satisfied  with  the  existing 
outlook.  In  the  Parliament  of  August  the  triumph  of 
the  Reformed  faith  had  been  more  seeming  than  real. 
The  Confession  embodying  the  new  creed  had  been 

^  Immediately  after  the  death  of  Francis,  the  marriage  of  Mary  and 
Don  Carlos,  the  son  of  Philip  II.,  was  a  possibility  that  exercised  all 
the  leading  personages  in  Europe. 

-    Works^  ii.   137.  3  //;/^. 

4   Randolph  to  Cecil,  6th  February  1561.  ^  /^/^_ 


KNOX  AND  THE  RELIGIOUS  REVOLUTION  99 

enthusiastically  adopted ;  but  the  new  church  had  not 
been  legally  organised,  nor  had  such  provision  been 
made  for  its  ministers  as  would  ensure  its  permanent 
existence  as  a  living  spiritual  body  in  the  country.  To 
effect  this  end  the  ministers  had  been  charged  to  draft 
the  Book  of  Discipline,  in  which  they  were  to  suggest 
"  a  good  and  godly  policy  "  to  be  submitted  to  the  next 
meeting  of  the  Estates.  That  meeting  was  now  fast 
approaching  ;  but  Knox  had  good  reason  to  fear  the 
reception  the  Book  would  meet  from  many  who  were 
ostensibly  members  of  his  own  communion.  It  had 
already  been  privately  examined  by  many  of  the  nobles, 
who  were  naturally  interested  in  a  document  which  bore 
equally  on  their  spiritual  and  temporal  well-being.  As 
expressed  in  private,  their  opinions  had  been  various 
and  conflicting.  "  Some  approved  it,"  says  Knox, 
"  and  willed  the  samyn  have  bene  sett  furth  be  a  law. 
Otheris,  perceaving  thair  carnall  libertie  and  worldlie 
commoditie  somewhat  to  be  impaired  thairby  grudged, 
insomuche  that  the  name  of  the  Book  of  Discipline 
became  odious  unto  thame.  Everie  thing  that  re- 
pugned to  their  corrupt  affectionis  was  termed  in  thair 
mockage,  'devote  imaginationis.' "  ^  When  such  was 
the  opinion  of  the  Book  among  persons  in  authority, 
Knox  and  his  fellow-ministers  could  not  but  look  for- 
ward with  anxiety  to  an  assembly  in  which  such  im- 
portant issues  were  to  be  determined. 

The  new  Convention  met  in  Edinburgh  on  the  15th 
January  1561.  There  is  no  complete  record  of  its 
proceedings  ;  but  in  the  eyes  of  contemporaries  as  well 
as  of  posterity  its  most  important  business  was  its  deal- 
ings with  the  Book  of  Discipline.^  Before  this  assembly 
the  Book  "  was  perused  newlie  oure  agane,  for  some 

1    Works,  ii.  128.  ^  CL  Diurnal  of  Occurreftts,  p.  63. 


LIFE  OF  JOHA   KNOX 


pretended  ignorance  be  reassone  thei  had  not  heard 
it."^  As  at  the  ParHament  of  the  preceding  August 
there  was  again  a  crowded  attendance  of  the  nobihty,- 
certain  of  whom  looked  with  Httle  favour  either  on  the 
doctrine  or  the  scheme  of  Church  poHcy  recommended 
for  their  adoption.  The  discussion  on  the  Book  was 
lonof  and  vehement,"  and  in  the  end  no  collective  de- 
cision  was  reached.  In  witness  of  their  own  conviction, 
however,  a  large  number  of  the  nobles  and  barons 
subscribed  the  document  as  being  "goode  and  con- 
forme  to  Goddis  word  in  all  poyntis."*  One  condition 
only  they  attached  to  their  subscription.  The  clergy 
of  the  old  Church,  who  had  embraced  the  new  religion, 
were  to  retain  their  benefices  provided  they  main- 
tained Protestant  ministers  in  their  respective  districts.'^ 
With  this  unsatisfactory  conclusion  to  all  his  aspirations, 
Knox  had  in  the  meantime  to  be  content.  From  the 
pulpit  he  thundered  at  the  rapacity  and  shortsighted- 
ness of  hollow  professors  ;  but  even  after  his  varied 
experience  of  life  he  was  still  to  learn  new  lessons  of 
the  inability  of  the  mass  of  men  to  rise  to  the  height 
of  a  great  cause. 

With  greater  satisfaction  than  in  recording  the  fate 
of  the  Book  of  Discipline,  Knox  relates  another  incident 
of  the  same  Convention.  By  order  of  the  Protestant 
Lords,  representatives  of  the  ancient  Church  appeared 
to  defend  its  discredited  doctrine  and  practice.  Of  the 
champions  put  forward  the  names  of  only  two  are 
recorded  :  Alexander  Anderson,  Principal  of  King's 
College,  Aberdeen,  and  John  Leslie,  subsequently 
Bishop  of  Ross.*^     On  the  other  side,  Willock,  Good- 

1  Works,  ii.  138. 

2  Jinid.  p.  129.  ^  Diurnal  of  Occiirrents,  p.  63. 
•1    Works,  ii.  129,  130.  ^  Ibid. 

*5  Ibid.  pp.  138,  139;  Leslie,  p.  293. 


KNOX  AND  THE  RELIGIOUS  REVOLUTION  loi 

man,  and  Knox  stood  forth  as  the  challengers.  The 
conditions  of  the  discussion  show  how  far  things  had 
gone  since  Knox's  arrival  in  Scotland  in  the  summer 
of  1559.  It  was  now  the  representatives  of  the  old 
religion  who  were  put  upon  their  defence.  With  the 
new  creed  they  were  told  they  had  nothing  to  do  :  of 
its  absolute  truth,  as  tested  by  the  line  and  rule  of 
Scripture,  their  judges  were  convinced  beyond  the 
questionings  of  men.^  By  Knox's  account  the  over- 
throw of  the  champions  of  Rome  was  complete. 
Anderson  having  been  disposed  of,  Leslie  was  ordered 
to  his  rescue,  but  with  no  better  fortune.  By  an  un- 
lucky reply,  he  fastened  on  himself  a  nickname  by 
which  he  continued  to  be  known  among  his  opponents.^ 
But  the  interesting  fact  regarding  this  discussion  is  that 
it  should  have  taken  place  at  all.  By  the  acts  of  the 
last  Parliament  the  severest  penalties  had  been  pro- 
nounced against  all  who  in  public  or  private  took  any 
part  in  the  worship  of  Rome.  Yet  six  months  after 
these  acts  became  law  the  doctrines  of  that  Church 
were  formally  debated  in  the  very  assembly  that  had 
passed  them.  In  accordance  with  their  own  enact- 
ments the  Protestant  Lords  should  have  taken  summary 
proceedings  against  Anderson  and  Leslie ;  yet  all  they 
now  did  was  to  place  them  under  ward  in  Edinburgh, 
and  to  debar  them  from  preaching  in  all  time  coming.^ 
In  spite  of  every  discouragement,  Knox  and  those 
who  stood  by  his  side  toiled  at  their  task  of  regenerat- 
ing the  nation.    "  The  Communion  was  ministered  here 

1    Works,  ii.  139. 

-  Ibid.  p.  141.  Leslie,  as  may  be  imagined,  gives  a  very  different 
account  of  the  discussion  ;  but  the  story  about  the  nickname  shows  that 
Knox's  report  is  not  very  far  from  the  truth. 

'^  Leshe,  p.  293.  As  we  shall  see,  Leslie  could  not  have  been  kept 
very  long  in  ward.  On  the  1 4th  of  April  he  left  Scotland  for  France  on 
an  important  mission. 


LIFE   OF  JOHN  KNOX 


on  Sunday  last,"  wrote  Randolph  to  Cecil  on  the  5th 
of  March,  "  I  assure  your  honour  with  great  decency 
and  very  good  order.  There  were  none  admitted 
but  such  as  made  open  protestation  of  their  belief, 
examined  and  admitted  by  the  ministers  and  deacons 
to  the  number  of  xiii.  and  odd."^  On  the  Sunday 
following  the  one  referred  to  by  Randolph,  another 
solemnity  took  place  in  St.  Giles's,  which  showed  the 
determination  of  the  ministers  to  take  possession  of  the 
country.  Before  the  meeting  of  the  Estates  in  the  pre- 
ceding year,  five  leading  preachers  had  been  chosen  to 
exercise  superintendence  over  the  religious  condition 
of  special  districts.  It  would  seem,  however,  that  the 
nomination  had  remained  a  dead  letter.^  At  all  events, 
on  Sunday  the  9th  of  March  1561,  Knox  officiated  at 
the  setting  apart  of  one  of  their  number,  John  Spottis- 
woode,  father  of  the  well-known  Archbishop  of  St. 
Andrews  ;  and  in  other  towns  the  same  ceremony  was 
performed  in  the  case  of  the  different  nominees.^ 

Meanwhile,  the  future  turn  of  affairs  in  Scotland 
grew  every  day  more  uncertain.  From  Knox's  History 
we  learn  in  what  vague  apprehension  he  lived  during 
the  months  immediately  preceding  the  Queen's  return. 
On  the  1 8th  of  February  deputies  had  come  from 
Mary  with  instructions  to  the  Estates.*  The  chief 
point  in  their  message  made  it  clear  to  Knox  and  his 
party  that  Mary  had  plans  which,  sooner  or  later,  must 
conflict  with  their  own.  She  urged  the  Estates  to  give 
proof  of  their  loyalty  by  renewing  that  ancient  league 

1  Randolph  to  Cecil,  5  th  March  1561. 

2  At  a  meeting  of  the  Reformed  Church  on  the  20th  December 
I  560,  there  was  a  nomination  of  ministers  and  commissioners. — Peterkin, 
TJie  Booke  of  the  Umversall  Kirk  of  Scofhuid,  pp.  1-3. 

^    Works,  ii.  141  et  seq.      Randolph  to  Cecil,  5th  March  1561. 
**  Diurnal  of  Occurrents,  p.  64. 


KNOX  AND  THE  RELIGIOUS  REVOLUTION  103 

with  France  which  had  been  the  source  of  such  good 
to  both  countries  in  the  past/  Besides  this  ominous 
message,  the  deputies  bore  about  three  hundred  letters 
to  various  persons  in  the  country,  which  could  not  but 
work  mischief  to  the  existing  settlement.  A  few 
weeks  after  Mary's  deputies,  an  ambassador  arrived 
from  Catharine  de'  Medici  with  recommendations  to 
the  same  purport — pressing  on  the  Estates  the  re- 
newal of  old  friendship."  Thus  far,  at  least,  Mary  and 
Catharine,  now  at  the  head  of  affairs  in  France,  were 
at  one — that  English  influence  should  not  direct  the 
counsels  of  Scotland.  Catharine  might  not  be  willing 
to  sacrifice  so  much  as  the  Guises  to  effect  this  end  ; 
but  to  a  certain  point,  Mary  could  reckon  on  her 
mother-in-law's  support  in  making  her  mistress  in  her 
own  kingdom.  "  Whenever  she  [Mary]  comes,"  wrote 
Randolph,  "I  believe  here  will  be  a  mad  world ;"  ^ 
and  his  opinion  was  shared  by  observers  of  every  shade 
of  opinion. 

The  certainty  that  Mary  was  on  their  side  gave 
fresh  heart  to  the  supporters  of  the  old  order.  At 
Stirling  the  bishops  met  in  council  to  consider  what 
steps  it  became  them  to  adopt  in  the  promising  turn 
which  affairs  were  now  taking.*  In  concert  with  them 
were  now  bound  to  common  action  the  Earls  Huntly, 
Atholl,  Crawford,  Marischal,  Sutherland,  and  Caithness.^ 
In  the  same  ranks  was  now  found  the  Earl  of  Bothwell, 
who  had  lately  come  from  France  "  to  work  also  what 
mischief  he  can,  or  at  least  so  far  as  his  credit  will  ex- 
tend."*^    So  threatening  a  front  did  the  Catholic  party 

1  Labanofif,  i.  Zo  et  seq. 

2  Ibid.  i.  86. 

^  Randolph  to  Cecil,  26th  February. 

4    IVorks,  ii.  156.  ^  Leslie,  p.  294. 

*^  Randolph  to  Cecil,  26th  February. 


I04  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

now  present  that  they  were  credited  with  the  intention 
of  seizing  the  capital  before  the  meeting  of  Estates  ap- 
pointed for  May.^  The  situation  was,  in  truth,  more 
serious  than  Knox  and  his  friends  imagined.  We  now 
know,  what  was  unknown  to  them,  that  the  Earls 
above  named  had  sent  proposals  to  Mary,  which,  if 
carried  to  a  successful  issue,  might  have  changed  the 
destinies  of  Scotland.  On  the  14th  of  April,  John 
Leslie,  the  unhappy  disputant  of  whom  we  have  just 
heard,  presented  himself  before  Mary  with  the  sugges- 
tion from  these  lords  that  she  should  land  at  some 
northern  part  of  Scotland,  where  they  would  meet  her 
with  20,000  men.  For  reasons  which  were  doubtless 
well  weighed,  Mary  rejected  the  suggestion,  expressing 
at  the  same  time  her  satisfaction  with  the  loyalty  of 
those  who  made  it.- 

At  this  time  also,  Knox  had  to  regret  the  absence 
of  the  strongest  man  on  the  Protestant  side — the  Lord 
James  Stewart.  By  the  order  of  the  late  Convention 
he  had  been  sent  to  Mary  with  the  object  of  disposing 
her  in  favour  of  those  he  represented.  He  bore  no 
special  commission  ;  ^  but  from  his  own  correspondence 
we  know  the  tenor  of  his  message.*  It  was  expedient, 
both  in  her  own  interest  and  that  of  her  kingdom,  that 
she  should  return  to  Scotland  at  the  earliest  oppor- 
tunity. Further,  if  she  was  to  govern  her  country  in 
peace  she  must  be  guided  by  two  counsels.  She  must 
leave  religion  as  she  found  it,  and  she  must  take  as  her 
advisers    the   nobles  who  were   then   at    the    head  of 


1    Works,  ii.  156. 

-   Leslie,  De  Rebus  Gcstis  Scotoriini. 

^  Labanoff  (Mary  to  Throgmorton,  22nd  April  1561),  ii.  94. 

■*  James  Stewart  to  Mary,  loth  June  1561.  This  interesting  and 
important  letter  was  first  published  by  M.  Philippson. — Histoire  du 
Regne  de  Marie  Sttiart^  iii.  Appendix  A. 


KNOX  AND  THE  RELIGIOUS  REVOLUTION  105 


affairs.^  Mary  had  seen  the  agent  of  the  CathoHc 
nobility  only  the  day  before,  and  had  been  warned  by 
him  against  anything  the  Lord  James  might  say.  But 
Mary  or  her  advisers  saw  that  in  her  own  interests  the 
course  recommended  by  her  brother  was  the  only  one 
it  was  prudent  to  follow.  Doubtless,  each  saw  that  in 
reality  there  was  the  width  of  heaven  between  their 
views  as  to  the  future  of  their  country.  Meanwhile, 
however,  they  parted  with  the  mutual  conviction  that 
for  the  time  they  must  walk  the  same  path  together. 
On  Mary's  return  to  Scotland  we  shall  find  that  for 
a  season  she  actually  followed  the  counsels  of  her 
brother,"' 


1  Ibid.  ;  Leslie,  p.  577. 

^  As  far  as  this  point  in  his  career,  two  charges  are  brought  against 
the  Lord  James  Stewart.  The  one  is,  that  in  all  his  action  during  the 
Revolution  he  was  secretly  aiming  at  the  throne.  As  has  been  said,  it 
was  natural  that  this  report  should  be  spread  by  Mary  of  Lorraine.  Of 
its  inherent  probability  the  reader  may  judge  from  the  account  of 
Scottish  affairs  given  in  the  text.  The  second  charge  is,  that  in  his 
mission  to  France,  he  acted  dishonourably  by  his  sister.  The  truth  is 
that,  if  such  terms  are  to  be  used,  it  is  to  the  conduct  of  Mary  rather 
than  to  that  of  her  brother  that  they  are  applicable.  Throughout  his  whole 
mission,  he  never  concealed  from  Mary  that  he  was  a  convinced  Pro- 
testant, that  he  preferred  the  English  to  the  French  alliance,  and  that,  if 
she  returned  to  Scotland,  she  must  be  guided  by  Protestant  counsellors 
and  leave  religion  as  she  found  it.  The  proof  of  this  is  found  (i)  in  his 
own  letter  to  Mary  already  referred  to;  (2)  in  a  letter  of  Throgmorton  to 
Elizabeth  (31st  May  1561)  ;  and  lastly,  in  the  account  of  his  mission 
given  by  Leslie,  who  had  anticipated  him  in  his  visit  to  Mary  in  France 
{De  Reb.  Gest.  Scot.  p.  577).  Both  going  and  coming,  also,  the  Lord 
James  publicly  visited  the  French  Court,  as  well  as  the  English 
ambassador,  Throgmorton,  in  Paris.  On  the  strength  of  a  passage  in 
a  letter  of  Throgmorton  to  Elizabeth  (29th  April),  it  has  been  said  that 
his  second  visit  to  that  ambassador  was  made  unknown  to  Mary.  So 
far  was  this  from  being  the  case  that  he  himself  tells  Mary  that  he  had 
paid  the  visit  (Philippson,  iii.  438).  On  the  other  hand,  the  conduct  of 
Mary  was  characterised  by  no  such  frank  admission  of  her  real  inten- 
tions ;  though  dishonour  is  too  strong  a  term  for  what  was  a  diplomatic 
necessity.  I^L  Philippson,  who  does  his  best  to  put  Mary  in  a  good  light, 
thus  describes  her  action  on  the  occasion  of  which  we  are  speaking  :  "  La 
jeune  veuve  recut  son  frere  avec  les  demonstrations  d'une  vive  affection. 


io6  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

Towards  the  end  of  May  Knox  found  an  oppor- 
tunity of  emphasising  the  case  in  which  the  Protestants 
now  stood.  In  the  closing  days  of  that  month  the 
Convention  of  the  Estates  and  the  Assembly  of  the 
Reformed  Church  ^  met  simultaneously  in  Edinburgh. 
The  crowded  attendance  of  the  different  sections  of 
the  Estates  showed  that  they  were  awake  to  the  crisis 
through  which  they  were  passing.  Numerous  bands 
of  the  supporters  of  the  old  order  had  flocked  to  the 
town,  and  carried  it  like  men  confident  that  their  hour 
of  triumph  was  at  hand.  Only  by  the  prudent  conduct 
of  the  Protestants,  Knox  tells  us,  was  an  actual  trial  of 
strength  prevented.^ 

Certain  important  matters  had  for  some  time  been 
waiting  the  decision  of  the  Estates.  The  ambassador 
of  Catharine  de'  Medici  had  been  in  Scotland  since 
the  I  ith  of  March,  and  had  not  yet  received  an  answer. 
The  answer  now  given  proved  that  the  men  who  had 
carried  through  the  late  revolution  were  as  resolute  as 
ever  to  see  the  end  of  their  work.  De  Noailles  was 
told  that  they  had  no  intention  of  making  any  league 
with  France  which  would  compromise  their  relations 
with  England.  As  for  their  dealing  with  the  clergy 
and  the  property  of  the  Church,  they  had  taken  these 
steps  with  due  deliberation,  and  were  fully  resolved  to 
abide  by  them.^ 

En  efifet  ses  conseillers  frangais,  I'eveque  D'Amiens,  MM.  D'Oysel,  De 
Martigues  et  De  la  Brosse,  qui  tous  connaissaient  parfaitement  I'Ecosse 
pour  y  avoir  sejourne  et  travaille,  lui  donnaient  I'avis  unanime  de  ne 
pas  exasperer  le  parti  protestant,  de  beaucoup  le  plus  influent  pour  le 
moment,  mais  de  le  flatter  jusqu'au  jour  oil  elle  serait  assez  forte  pour 
prendre  rofifensive,"  i.  293. 

1  This  is  known  as  the  Second  General  Assembly. — The  Booke  of 
the  Universall  Kirk,  p.  5.  -    Works,  ii.  161. 

3  Works,  ii.  166,  167.  In  condensing  the  replies  given  to  De 
Noailles,  Knox  has  doubtless  accentuated  their  point ;  but  their  purport 
could  not  have  been  materially  different  from  what  he  reports. 


KNOX  AND  THE  RELIGIOUS  REVOLUTION  107 

Besides  the  affair  of  the  French  ambassador,  the 
Estates  had  also  before  them  certain  demands  on  the 
part  of  the  ministers,  in  which  the  hand  of  Knox  is 
unmistakably  present.  Assembling  in  the  Tolbooth. 
the  representatives  of  the  Reformed  Church  drew  up 
seven  articles  to  be  laid  before  the  Estates.  The 
burden  of  these  articles  was,  that  free  course  should 
be  given  to  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel ;  that  fitting 
provision  should  be  made  for  the  maintenance  of  its 
ministers ;  that  the  mass  should  be  abolished,  and 
those  who  took  any  part  in  its  celebration  punished 
according  to  the  late  Acts  of  Parliament.  The  articles 
were  accompanied  by  a  "  Supplicatioun,"  which  is 
almost  certainly  the  work  of  Knox.  The  danger  that 
now  threatened  the  Protestant  cause  had  roused  all 
his  energies,  and  in  this  utterance  he  even  surpasses 
himself  in  the  vigour  of  his  denunciation  and  the 
audacity  of  his  appeals.  One  sentence  gives  the  point 
of  the  whole  address.  "  Honestie  cravis  and  con- 
science movis  us  to  mak  the  verray  secreittis  of  oure 
hertis  patent  to  youre  Honouris  in  that  behalf,  quhilk 
is  this,  '  That  befoir  that  ever  thai  tyrantis  and  dumb 
doggis  impyre  abufe  us,  and  abufe  suche  as  God  hes 
subjected  unto  us,  that  we  Barronis  and  Gentilmen 
professing  Christ  Jesus  within  this  Realme  ar  fullie 
determined  to  hasard  lyffe  and  quhatsoever  we  haif 
received  of  our  God  in  temporall  thingis.'"^  The 
manner  in  which  the  Lords  of  the  Articles  received 
these  petitions  proved  that  there  had  been  no  cooling 
of  their  zeal.  They  ratified  all  the  seven  articles  ;  and 
one  of  them  they  put  into  immediate  and  vigorous 
execution.  The  Earl  of  Arran,  accompanied  by  Argyle 
and  Glencairn,  set  out  for  the  west  on  an  iconoclastic 

^    Works,  ii.  162,  163. 


loS  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

tour,  in  which  they  burnt  a  large  part  of  the  Abbey  of 
Paisley,  and  wrecked  those  of  Failford,  Kilwinning,  and 
Crossraguel.  On  a  similar  expedition,  Maitland  and 
the  Lord  James,  who  had  just  returned  from  France, 
"maid  sick  reformatioun  as  nathing  contentit  the  Erie 
of  Huntlie."^ 

While  Knox  was  thus  exercised  resfardine  the 
general  prospects  of  his  religion,  his  special  function 
as  minister  in  Edinburgh  brought  him  vexations  which 
were  sufficient  of  themselves  to  disturb  his  peace  of 
mind.  In  Edinburgh  the  mass  of  the  inhabitants 
were  not  in  sympathy  with  the  late  changes  in  religion. 
The  new  code  of  discipline  so  rigidly  enforced  by  the 
new  spiritual  guides  could  not  but  be  irksome  to  men 
who  had  been  brought  up  under  the  easy  rule  of  the 
ancient  Church.  More  than  once  the  ministers  were 
made  to  see  that  their  yoke  was  borne  with  impatience. 
One  of  the  laws  passed  at  the  instance  of  the  preachers 
was  that  adulterers  should  be  "carted"  through  the 
town,  and  afterwards  banished.  In  November  1560, 
a  flagrant  breach  of  this  law  necessitated  the  infliction 
of  its  penalty  ;  but  while  the  delinquent  was  being  led 
through  the  streets,  a  mob  rushed  to  his  rescue,  broke 
up  the  cart  in  which  he  was  being  led,  and  carried  him 
off  in  triumph.^ 

In  July  1 56 1  a  still  more  formidable  riot  showed 
the  mind  of  the  populace.     In  1555,  under  the  Regency 

1  JVor^s,  ii.  167,  168.  In  a  letter  to  Cecil,  Ivlaitland  thus  refers  to 
the  expedition  in  which  he  had  been  engaged  with  the  Lord  James. 
"  I  have  been  these  forty  days  in  the  North  of  Scotland  with  my  Lord 
James,  where  we  have  not  been  altogether  unoccupied,  but  so  far  forth 
as  occasion  would  serve,  advancing  the  religion  and  the  common  cause." 
When  a  man  like  Maitland  could  write  thus,  it  is  clear  proof  that  the 
iconoclasts  of  the  sixteenth  century  were  not  necessarily  the  fanatics 
they  are  sometimes  called.  These  words  of  ^Maitland  might  pass  for 
Knox's  own. — Keith,  iii.  -    Works,  ii.  155. 


KNOX  AND  THE  RELIGIOUS  REVOLUTION  109 

of  Mary  of  Lorraine,  an  Act  of  Parliament  had  been 
passed  forbidding  the  games  of  Robin  Hood,  as  leading 
to  undue  licence  and  disorder.  But  the  people  could 
not  be  restrained  from  some  attempts  at  their  ancient 
pastime.  For  his  share  in  such  an  attempt  in  May  of 
1 56 1  a  certain  John  Gillon  was  imprisoned,  tried,  and 
condemned  to  death.  There  must  have  been  few 
important  events  in  the  life  of  the  town  with  which, 
directly  or  indirectly,  Knox  had  not  something  to  do, 
and  in  the  present  affair  he  played  his  own  part.  As 
one  whose  word  must  go  far  in  such  a  case,  Knox  was 
waited  on  by  a  deputation  of  craftsmen,  and  besought 
to  use  his  influence  to  have  the  execution  of  Gillon 
delayed.  Knox,  it  would  appear,  had  more  than  once 
been  induced  to  interfere  in  behalf  of  breakers  of  the 
law  ;  but  on  this  occasion  he  was  not  to  be  moved.  If 
the  execution  was  not  stayed,  he  was  told,  "  bayth  he 
and  the  Baillies  suld  repent  it."  This  was  not  a 
remark  likely  to  move  Knox  from  a  resolution,  and  he 
proudly  replied  that  "he  wald  not  hurt  his  conscience 
for  ony  feir  of  man."  Knox  and  the  magistrates  being 
alike  obdurate,  the  mob  took  the  matter  into  their  own 
hands  and,  forcing  their  way  into  the  Tolbooth,  carried 
off  Gillon  and  several  other  prisoners  who  were 
awaiting  their  punishment.^ 

Thus,  with  an  uncertain  hold  on  the  mass  of  the 
people,  with  a  powerful  body  among  the  nobles  and  with 
the  hierarchy  of  the  ancient  Church  arrayed  against 
them,  the  Protestants  had  good  grounds  for  alarm  as 
to  what  the  next  few  months  might  bring  forth.  The 
one  matter  that  now  engrossed  all  men's  minds  was 
the  imminent  return  of  Mary  to  her  native  country. 
The   Protestant   leaders   were   themselves   divided   in 

1    Works^  ii.  157-160;  Diurnal  of  Occurrents,  pp.  65,  66. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 


opinion  regarding  the  probable  effects  of  the  Queen's 
presence.^  Maitland  was,  on  the  whole,  disposed  to 
think  that  it  was  better  she  should  remain  where  she 
was.  "  I  assure  you,"  he  wrote  to  Cecil,  "this  whole 
realm  is  in  a  miserable  case.  If  the  Queen,  our 
Sovereign,  come  shortly  home,  the  dangers  be  evident 
and  many  ;  and  yet  if  she  shall  not  come,  it  is  not 
without  great  peril."  ^  On  the  other  hand,  it  was  the 
opinion  of  the  Lord  James  that  Mary's  return  was  a 
pressing  necessity  in  the  interests  of  the  public  peace. ^ 
He  well  knew  that,  left  to  herself,  she  would  with  all 
speed  undo  the  whole  work  of  the  Congregation  during 
the  past  twelve  months.  This  was  proved  by  the  fact 
that  in  spite  of  all  Elizabeth's  representations  she  had 
steadfastly  refused  to  ratify  the  Treaty  of  Edinburgh. 
But  the  Protestants  were  now  the  strongest  party  in 

1  Randolph  wrote  to  Cecil  (9th  August)  that  "  some  of  them  care 
not  tho'  they  never  saw  her  face." — Robertson,  History  of  Scotland^  iii. 
287  (1812). 

■■^  Maitland  had  personal  grounds  for  not  desiring  Mary's  return. 
As  having  deliberately  deserted  her  mother,  Mary  of  Lorraine,  at  a 
critical  juncture,  he  had  special  reasons  for  dreading  Mary's  vengeance. 
His  letters  during  the  months  previous  to  her  return  clearly  show  his 
apprehension. 

^  The  evidence  regarding  the  attitude  of  the  Protestant  party  on  the 
question  of  Mary's  return  is  somewhat  conflicting.  With  reference  to 
the  Lord  James,  a  letter  of  Throgmorton  to  Cecil  (26th  July)  quoted  by 
Tytler,  would  seem  to  indicate  that  he  had  changed  his  mind  as  to  the 
desirability  of  Mary's  return.  Camden  also  (Annales  Rerum  Anglicariun, 
pp.  67,  III,  edit.  161  5)  states  that  the  Lord  James  on  his  return  from 
France  advised  Elizabeth  to  have  Mary  seized  in  the  course  of  her 
voyage  home.  Against  the  testimony  of  Camden,  who  gives  no  authority 
for  his  statement,  we  must  put  the  fact  that  in  his  interview  with  Throg- 
morton in  Paris  after  he  left  Mary,  her  brother  strongly  counselled  her 
return  (Throgmorton  to  Cecil,  26th  July).  Further,  as  late  as  the  6th 
of  August,  only  eight  days  before  Mary  sailed,  he  wrote  to  Elizabeth 
recommending  that  she  should  publicly  recognise  the  Scottish  Queen  as 
her  successor,  and  thus  heal  the  breach  between  them  (Lord  James 
Stewart  to  Queen  Elizabeth,  6th  Aug.  1561  ;  Froude,  vi.  502).  Such 
advice  was  surely  inconsistent  with  any  traitorous  intention  on  the  part 
of  the  man  who  gave  it. 


KNOX  AND  THE  RELIGIOUS  REVOLUTION  iii 

the  country,  and  in  spite  of  herself  Mary  would  be 
driven  to  act  according  to  their  interests.  Willing  or 
unwilling,  should  Mary  thus  identify  herself  with  the 
Congregation,  it  must  strengthen  the  position  of  her 
brother  and  those  who  acted  in  concert  with  him. 

Between  Mary  and  Knox  there  was  already  war 
before  they  had  seen  each  other's  face.  It  had  come 
to  Knox's  ears  that  Mary  had  urged  certain  learned 
men  in  different  countries  to  prepare  a  reply  to  his 
"  Monstruous  Blast,"  and,  further,  that  she  had  sought 
"to  inflame  the  heart"  of  the  Queen  of  England 
against  himself.  The  subject  was  a  delicate  one  on 
which  to  approach  Elizabeth  ;  but  he  had  an  argument 
at  hand  which  he  used  with  some  dexterity.  The 
Scottish  Queen,  he  told  Elizabeth,  could  not  be  so 
eager  against  the  book  from  any  fear  of  harm  to 
herself  or  the  English  nation.  There  must  be  another 
reason  for  Mary's  anxiety  regarding  its  evil  tendency. 
Knox  does  not  specify  what  this  reason  might  be  ;  but 
Elizabeth  could  not  have  misread  the  hint.  Among 
her  adversaries  in  Scotland  Mary  knew  that  she  would 
have  none  more  formidable  than  Knox.  If  Elizabeth 
could  be  persuaded  to  have  him  removed  or  silenced, 
this  would  be  an  advantage  for  Mary  on  which  she 
might  well  congratulate  herself  But  the  removal  of 
Knox  would  be  a  blow  to  English  interests  in  Scotland 
which,  with  all  her  dislike  to  Knox,  Elizabeth  would 
think  twice  before  she  inflicted.  It  was  this  dilemma 
that  Knox  placed  before  Elizabeth,  and  he  knew 
enough  of  her  to  be  persuaded  that  she  would  not 
hesitate  in  the  choice  of  alternatives.^ 

Thus,  even  before  she  set  foot  in  Scotland,  Knox 
was  left  in  no  doubt  as  to  how  Mary  regarded  him. 

^    Works,  vi.  126,   127. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 


Yet  he  could  hardly  have  realised  that  in  this  girl  of 
nineteen  he  was  to  find  one  who  by  instinct  and 
upbringing  was  the  incarnate  antithesis  of  all  that  he 
thought  and  felt  most  deeply  regarding  God  and  man  ; 
to  whom  that  work  of  reformation,  which  for  him  was 
the  victory  of  God's  will  on  earth,  was  the  work  of 
rebels  and  heretics,  with  whom  as  an  anointed  sovereign 
and  a  daughter  of  the  Church  she  was  bound  to  keep 
no  terms.  In  what  this  work  of  Knox  essentially  con- 
sisted, it  is  now  time  to  consider. 


CHAPTER   V 

THE    NEW    THEOLOGY    AND    RELIGION 

As  we  are  now  aware,  a  nation  stamps  the  religion  it 
embraces  with  its  own  specific  character  and  tendency. 
The  CathoHcism  of  Spain  is  in  spirit  as  essentially  dif- 
ferent from  the  Catholicism  of  France  as  the  religion  of 
Calvin  from  that  of  Luther  or  the  Church  of  England. 
(  Out  of  the  many  developments  of  Protestantism  during 
the  sixteenth  century  Scotland  made  deliberate  choice 
of  the  system  of  Calvin  as  its   national   religion.      It 
was  once  thought  a  sufficient  explanation  of  this  choice 
that  John  Knox,  the  strongest  spirit  among  the  Scot-  i  ' 
tish    Reformers,    had    lived    in    Geneva,   and,    having  ■ 
imbibed  the  doctrines  of  Calvinism,  transplanted  them  ' 
to  his  native  country.^'  We  now  see  that  the  causes  of  ^ 
revolutions  lie  deeper  than  such  an  explanation  even 
suggests. 

By  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century  Scotland 
had  come  to  a  full  consciousness  of  itself:  ^  a  sufficient 
body  of  educated  men  now  existed  to  create  a  national 
character  with  collective  aims  and  aspirations.  In  the 
breaking  up  of  medisevalism  and  the  beginnings  of  the 
new  era,  Scotland,  like  other  countries,  had  to  choose 

1  According  to  Michelet,  France  attained  this  self-consciousness  in 
her  contact  with  the  Italy  of  the  Renaissance  towards  the  end  of  the 
fifteenth  and  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century.  In  the  case  of 
Scotland  this  stage  was  reached  in  the  conflict  of  the  old  and  the  new 
religions  towards  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth. 

VOL.  II  8 


1 14  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

the  path  along  which  her  development  should  lie.  As 
we  have  seen,  in  politics  she  rejected  the  alliance  of 
France,  and  threw  in  her  lot  with  England.  On  the 
other  hand,  in  religion  she  followed  from  the  begin- 
ning such  different  courses  from  England  that  it  was 
apparent  to  every  observer  that  on  this  subject  the 
peoples  north  and  south  of  the  Tweed  could  never 
reach  a  common  understanding.^  In  this  decisive 
choice  of  a  national  ideal  we  can  see  only  the  action  of 
moral  and  intellectual  affinities  which  were  the  outcome 
of  the  special  history  of  the  Scottish  people.  In  this 
fact,  indeed,  lies  the  essential  distinction  between  the 
pre  -  Reformation  and  post  -  Reformation  Church  of 
Scotland.  Of  the  Columban  or  the  Roman  religion  it 
cannot  be  said  that  it  was  national  in  the  sense  that  it  / 
grew  out  of  the  heart  and  mind  of  the  people.  Im- 
ported into  the  country  when  the  nation  was  incapable 
of  conscious  choice,  the  Roman  faith  remained  to  the 
end  a  mere  superstructure  imposed  from  without,  with 
no  special  traits  to  mark  it  off  from  the  other  churches 
of  Christendom.  Had  the  ancient  Church  conquered 
in  the  religious  struggle  of  the  sixteenth  century,  she 
must  have  risen  to  a  new  life  as  distinctive  as  that  of 
the  Church  that  triumphed.  As  it  was,  she  proved 
unable  to  survive  the  convulsion  out  of  which  the 
Scottish  character  and  genius  came  forth  with  those 
peculiar  features  which  have  since  become  plain  to  all 
the  world. 

That    Scotland    chose    Calvinism    as    its    national 

1  "  I  have  talked  of  late  with  them  all,"  writes  Randolph  to  Cecil, 
"  to  search  their  opinions  how  a  uniformity  in  religion  might  be  had  in 
both  the  Realms.  They  seem  willing  that  so  it  were  ;  many  commodities 
are  alleged  that  might  ensue  herof  Howbeit  I  find  them  so  severe  in 
that  they  profess,  and  so  loth  to  remit  anything  of  that  they  have  received 
that  I  see  little  hope  hereof." — Randolph  to  Cecil,  24th  August  1560. 


THE  NEW  THEOLOGY  AND  RELIGION  115 

faith,  therefore,  was  due  to  far  deeper  causes  than  the 
idiosyncrasies  or  the  personal  history  of  Knox. 
'  Between  Calvinism  and  the  Scottish  genius  as  it  now 
defined  itself,  there  was  a  natural  affinity  which  the 
subsequent  religious  history  of  Scotland  has  sufficiently 
demonstrated.  Knox  and  his  brother-ministers — the 
barons,  gentry,  and  citizens  who  responded  to  their 
teaching— only  expressed  what  we  now  see  to  have 
been  the  essential  tendencies  of  the  national  thought 
and  feeling.  In  choosing  Calvinism  in  preference  to 
any  other  form  of  Protestantism  Scotland  showed  what 
religion  it  instinctively  took  to  its  heart ;  but  it  is  in 
the  peculiar  character  it  gave  to  Calvinism,  in  the 
temper  with  which  it  embraced  it,  that  we  see  the 
religious  instincts  of  the  Scottish  people  in  their  fullest 
working.  It  will  presently  appear  how  much  the 
Scottish  Reformers  owed  to  Calvin  ;  but  it  will  no  less 
appear  that,  in  borrowing  as  they  did,  they  added,  and 
rejected,  and  modified  in  a  degree  and  fashion  that 
gives  to  their  work  a  character  entirely  its  own. 

/  Equally  as  a  theology  and  a  religion  Scotland 
adopted  the  new  faith  with  a  fervour  which  could  have 
come  only  of  natural  propensities  finding  their  scope 
and  gratification.  In  the  theology  of  the  Calvinistic 
system  the  Scottish  intellect  found  scope  for  that 
abstract  dialectic  which  has  always  been  its  natural 
function.  The  history  of  Scottish  thought  since  the 
Reformation  leaves  us  in  no  doubt  that  the  intellectual 
side  of  Calvinism  had  a  natural  attraction  for  Scotsmen 
beyond  that  of  any  other  theological  system.  It  is 
in  abstract  thinking  in  the  domain  of  theology  and 
philosophy  that  Scotsmen  have  expended  their  main 
intellectual  endeavour  during  the  last  three  centuries ; 
and  in   this   abiding   mental   habit  we   have  the  best 


ii6  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

proof  that  Calvinistic  theology  did  not  find  a  home  in 
Scotland  through  any  mere  fortuitous  conjunction  of 
circumstance.  On  the  side  of  doo;ma  the  Scottish 
reformation  was  the  assimilation  of  beliefs  and  of 
methods  of  thought  which  met  the  highest  needs  of 
the  national  mind,^ 

It  was  the  dominating  thought  of  Knox  and  his 
associates  that  "the  reverent  face  of  the  primitive  and 
apostolick  churche  should  be  reduced  agane  to  the  eyes 
and  knowledge  of  men."  Yet  in  much  of  the  creed  they 
adopted,  in  many  of  the  reasonings  with  which  they  sup- 
ported it,  they  were  as  essentially  mediaeval  as  the  Church 
of  Rome  itself.  They  rejected  certain  dogmas  of  Rome, 
and  put  forth  others  of  their  own  ;  but  they  still  moved 
in  the  same  order  of  ideas  and  applied  precisely  the  same 
intellectual  methods  as  did  the  scholastic  theologians  of 
the  Middle  Age.  In  Knox's  handling  of  Scripture,  as  has 
been  more  than  once  said,  we  have  precisely  the  same 
methods  as  those  of  the  schoolmen  in  their  interminable 
commentaries  on  Aristotle.  By  the  ingenious  com- 
bination of  texts,  divorced  from  their  natural  and 
historical  meaning,  he  arrived  at  a  system  of  dogma 
which  to  a  large  extent  would  have  been  unrecognisable 
by  any  writer  either  in  the  Old  or  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment. In  the  metaphysical  theology  oi  Paradise  Lost 
and  the  Divine  Comedy  we  have  a  signal  illustration  of 
this  essential  identity  of  the  Protestant  and  mediaeval 
theology.  Widely  as  they  differed  in  particular  beliefs, 
Milton,  the  poet  of  Puritanism,  and  Dante,  the  poet  of 
the  mediaeval  Church  and  Empire,  were  sundered  by  no 

1  It  is  worth  noting  that  in  the  subsequent  centuries  Geneva  was  not 
so  faithful  to  Calvin  as  Scotland  to  Knox  and  his  brother-reformers.  In 
Geneva,  Calvinism  was  imposed  on  the  citizens  largely  through  the  influ- 
ence of  Calvin  and  the  foreigners  whom  he  was  the  means  of  introducing 
into  the  town.       In  Scotland  Calvinism  was  an  organic  development. 


THE  NEW  THEOLOGY  AND  RELIGION  117 

gulf  in  their  modes  of  thought  and  feeHng  on  the 
subjects  that  had  the  profoundest  interest  for  both.^ 

In  his  mental  attitude  no  less  than  his  modes  of 
thought,  Knox  was  in  reality  in  the  same  plane  as  his  old 
master,  the  schoolman  John  Major.  When  Knox  had 
extracted  his  theological  system  from  the  Bible,  and 
held  it  in  his  hand  embodied  in  an  elaborate  confession 
of  faith,  his  labour  as  a  thinking  agent  was  at  an  ertd. 
To  add  to  this  compendium  or  take  from  it  was  alike 
an  impiety  which  deserved  due  penalties  in  this  world, 
and  would  certainly  ensure  them  in  the  next.^  By 
these  paper-popes,  as  confessions  were  sarcastically 
called,  the  Protestants  were  thus  as  rigidly  bound  to 
the  same  mental  attitude  as  the  schoolman  who  had  to 
regulate  his  thinking  by  the  decisions  of  popes  and 
councils. 

But  if  Knox  was  as  fast  bound  by  authority  and 
metaphysics  as  any  scholastic  theologian,  there  was  a 
force  behind  his  thinking  of  which  the  typical  school- 
man knew  nothing.  Along  with  the  theology  of  Calvin, 
the  Scottish  reformers  adopted  the  religion  which  that 
theology  necessarily  implied.  But  this  religion  incul- 
cated a  view  of  life  and  an  ordering  of  conduct  which  the 
Roman  Church  had  long  since  abandoned  as  an  impos- 
sible ideal  outside  the  cloister.  In  the  view  of  primitive 
Christianity  there  was  but  one  thing  of  essential  import- 
ance to  men  both  as  regards  this  world  and  the  next 
— the  relation  in  which  they  stood  to  God  and  His  Son. 
All  other  interests  were  but  so  many  distractions  that 
diverted  men's  minds  from  the  master  concern.     But  as 

^  Compare,  for  example,  Beatrice's  discourse  in  Paradiso,  Canto  VII. 
with  Paradise  Lost,  Book  iii.  lines  80  ef  seq. 

2  In  the  exordium  to  the  Confession  of  Faith,  its  authors  invite 
criticism  ;  but  in  such  terms  that  the  concession  is  merely  a  form  of 
speech. 


ii8  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

the  Christian  Church  grew,  it  had  to  make  terms  with 
the  world.  The  essentially  Christian  view  of  life  was 
relegated  to  monasteries,  and  ordinary  men  and  women 
were  permitted  to  blend  secular  interests  with  their 
religion  to  an  extent  that  grew  with  the  greatness  of 
the  Church  and  its  successive  heads.  By  the  sixteenth 
century  it  may  be  said  that  as  regards  rule  of  life  the 
Church  of  Rome  had  departed  as  far  from  the  Church 
of  Jerusalem  as  any  institution  can  possibly  depart 
from  its  original  ideal.  Between  Leo  X.  the  head  of 
Christendom,  and  St.  James,  the  head  of  the  Church  at 
Jerusalem,  the  distance  is  so  great  that  all  the  inter- 
vening centuries  are  needed  to  satisfy  us  of  the  historic 
relation  of  the  one  to  the  other. 

It  was  this  contrast  between  the  Church  of  the 
Apostles  and  that  in  which  they  had  been  brought  up 
that  explains  at  once  Knox's  prophetic  zeal  and  the 
success  of  his  mission.  The  dogmas  he  accepted  no 
more  than  the  dogmas  of  Rome  really  expressed  the 
mind  of  the  primitive  Church.  By  mere  abstractions, 
moreover,  the  hearts  of  the  majority  of  his  hearers 
could  not  have  been  quickened  into  revolt  against  the 
traditions  of  centuries.  On  the  other  hand,  the  con- 
trast between  the  religion  of  the  apostles  and  the 
religion  of  Rome  appealed  to  elementary  instincts 
which  breed  the  inevitable  conviction  of  enthusiasts 
and  reformers.  The  simplest  of  Knox's  hearers  could 
understand  that  in  the  Church  of  Rome,  as  they  saw  it, 
with  its  gorgeous  furnishings  and  worldly  officials, 
there  was  little  resemblance  to  the  original  Christian 
Society. 

[  As  the  Calvinistic  theology  appealed  to  the  argu- 
mentative and  speculative  turn  of  the  Scottish  genius, 
so  the  Calvinistic  religion  with  its  rigid  definition  of 


THE  NEW  THEOLOGY  AND  RELIGION  119 

human  interests  and  activities  commended  itself  as  the 
true  ideal  of  the  Christian  life  on  earth.  By  the 
physical  character  of  their  country,  by  their  very 
struggle  to  wring  from  it  the  common  necessaries  of 
life,  the  Scottish  people,  when  they  deliberately  chose 
a  religion  for  themselves,  naturally  chose  one  whose 
worship  and  whose  code  of  duty  were  in  harmony  with 
the  hard  realities  and  the  limited  scope  of  their  daily 
life  To  an  Italian  ecclesiastic,  nursed  in  luxury  and 
halt  a  pagan  at  heart,  the  Galilean  scheme  of  life  was 
as  impossible  as  the  pastoral  life  he  described  in  his 
neo-Latin  verse.  To  men  with  the  upbringing  and 
instincts  of  Knox,  on  the  other  hand,  the  life  of  the  first 
Christians  was  no  impossible  ideal  which  it  was 
irrational  to  seek  after  at  the  stao-e  to  which  the  world 
had  now  come. 

In  this  sense  that  they  had  recovered  the  lost  ideal 
of  their  religion  the  Scottish  Reformers  found  the 
motive  power  by  which  they  were  enabled  to  renew 
the  spiritual  life  of  their  countrymen.  The  very 
austerity  of  the  new  Gospel  was  the  convincing  argu- 
ment of  its  truth  for  a  people  to  whom  the  pride  of  life 
and  the  contradictions  of  existence  were  equally  un- 
known. The  Catholic  Church  itself  had  never  been 
without  a  succession  of  great  teachers  who  viewed 
with  horror  the  gulf  that  separated  the  religion  of  their 
contemporaries  from  that  of  the  first  Teacher.  St. 
Bernard's  view  of  the  Christian  life  was  as  narrow  and 
absolute  as  that  of  Knox  or  Calvin  :  of  the  vanity  of 
gorgeous  temples  and  mere  accessories  to  worship 
Knox  himself  did  not  speak  with  more  emphatic  con- 
tempt.^    If  Savonarola  could  have  realised  his  aims,  he 

1  Cf.  Cotter  Morison,  The  Life  and  Tii7ies  of  St.  Bernard^  pp.  147 
et  seq.       As  an   interesting   comment   on    the  attitude  of  St.    Bernard 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 


would  have  bound  the  society  of  Florence  to  as  simple 
a  scheme  of  living  as  the  Scottish  Reformers  succeeded 
in  imposing  in  Edinburgh.  But  what  was  practical  in 
Scotland  and  Geneva  was  in  Italy  a  chimerical  enter- 
prise which  could  only  issue  in  the  melodrama  in  which 
Savonarola  was  the  central  figure.  To  reproduce 
primitive  Christianity  in  the  Italy  of  Lorenzo  de' 
Medici  and  Cardinal  Bembo/  would  have  been  to 
reverse  the  miracle  of  changing  water  into  wine. 
Nevertheless,  it  remains  true  that  in  religion  as  distinct 
from  theology  there  had  always  been  in  the  Church  of 
Rome,  and  these  among  the  noblest  of  her  servants, 
men  who  ardently  desired  a  return  to  the  simple  ideals 
of  the  original  gospel.  With  Knox  and  Calvin  these 
men  were  perfectly  at  one  in  setting  down  as  blind 
folly  every  interest  of  life  that  did  not  directly  bear  on 
the  one  concern  of  working  out  their  salvation  with 
fear  and  trembling. 

It  has  been  constantly  affirmed  that  Knox  and  his 
brother  Reformers  went  to  the  Old  Testament  rather 
than  the  New  for  the  spirit  and  burden  of  their  teach- 
ing. The  resemblance  between  Knox  and  the  ancient 
Hebrew  prophet  is  sufficiently  obvious ;  but  Knox 
himself  would  have  vehemently  denied  that  there  was 
any  essential  difference  between  the  spirit  of  the  two 
volumes.  On  two  articles  of  belief,  he  would  have 
maintained  that  he  was  borne  out  by  Christ  and  St. 
Paul  not  less  than  by  Isaiah  and  Jeremiah.  It  is  the 
root  of  the  Galilean  as  of  the  Pauline  Gospel  that  there 

to  "  the  pride  of  life,"  Morison  quotes  the  following  sentence  from 
Ruskin  {Sio7ies  of  Venice^  ii.  103)  :  "  I  never  met  with  a  Christian 
whose  heart  was  thoroughly  set  upon  the  world  to  come,  and,  so  far  as 
human  judgment  could  pronounce,  perfect  and  right  before  God,  who 
cared  about  art  at  all." 

1  Bembo  dissuaded  Cardinal  Sadoleto  from  reading  the  epistles  of 
St.  Paul  on  the  ground  that  they  would  corrupt  his  style. 


THE  NEW  THEOLOGY  AND  RELIGION  121 

is  a  gulf  fixed  both  for  this  world  and  the  next  between 
saved  and  unsaved.  But  it  was  this  conviction  that 
was  the  motive-force  of  all  Knox's  speech  and  action, 
and  that  explains  his  absolute  attitude  in  all  his  dealings 
with  his  fellows.  In  giving  effect  to  this  conviction  he 
had  no  need  to  confine  himself  to  the  Old  Testament 
for  unsparing  denunciation  of  all  whom  he  deemed 
the  enemies  of  God.  Luther  used  language  towards 
his  opponents  as  violent  as  that  of  Knox,  and  he  justi- 
fied himself  by  quoting  the  example  of  Christ  in  his 
rebukes  to  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees.^  On  another 
article  of  faith,  we  have  seen,  the  teaching  of  Knox 
was  as  true  to  the  New  Testament  as  to  the  Old. 
With  Jesus  and  St.  Paul  he  taught  that  it  was  frivolous 
distraction  to  occupy  the  mind  with  matters  which, 
however  innocent  in  themselves,  are  in  their  essence 
only  mundane  and  temporary. 

In  the  document  we  are  about  to  examine,  there- 
fore, there  is  a  veritable  reproduction  of  that  view  of 
human  life  and  destiny  which  was  announced  equally 
by  Christ  and  the  Prophets.  So  far  was  the  attempt 
from  being  novel,  that  zealous  spirits  throughout  all 
the  centuries  of  mediaeval  Christianity  had  never  lost 
sight  of  it ;  and  had  in  their  turn  striven  to  restore  it. 
In  Scotland,  by  a  peculiar  combination  of  persons,  and 
times,  and  circumstances,  it  was  found  possible,  after 
fifteen  centuries,  to  codify  and  give  effect  to  this  ideal 
of  a  divine  republic.  In  a  measure  far  beyond  the 
people  who  originally  conceived  it  Scotland  adopted 
this  ideal  and  wrought  it  into  the  national  life. 

^  For  Knox,  as  for  Calvin  and  Luther,  it  should  be  remembered, 
Jesus  was  not  the  emasculated  figure  of  certain  types  of  Christianity, 
but  as  much  "a  son  of  thunder"  as  any  of  the  ancient  prophets. 


CHAPTER   VI 

THE    BOOK    OF    DISCIPLINE 

The  new  theology  and  religion  were  embodied  in  the 
Confession  of  Faith  and  the  Book  of  Discipline — both 
drawn  up,  as  we  have  seen,  at  the  express  command 
of  the  Estates  that  met  in  August  1560.  As  these 
two  documents  may  be  regarded  as  in  some  sort  the 
definitive  record  of  all  Knox's  labours,  they  can  hardly 
be  passed  over  in  a  detailed  account  of  his  life  and 
work.  Had  Knox  never  returned  from  Geneva,  the 
Confession  of  Faith  and  the  Book  of  Discipline  would 
doubtless  have  made  their  appearance  at  the  time  and 
under  the  circumstances  they  did  ;  yet  it  is  beyond 
question  that,  more  than  any  other  single  person,  he 
left  his  individual  stamp  on  both  of  these  documents. 

Of  the  Confession  it  is  unnecessary  to  speak  at 
length.  To  all  intents  and  purposes  it  is  a  mere 
compendium  of  Calvinistic  theology  in  the  fully  de- 
veloped form  it  had  assumed  in  Calvin's  later  days. 
Like  every  Church  that  had  broken  from  Rome,  the 
Scottish  Protestants  had  taken  the  earliest  opportunity 
of  defining  their  position  in  a  symbol  of  their  faith. 
Such  symbols  rose  out  of  the  necessity  in  which  the 
Reformers  found  themselves.  They  at  once  con- 
solidated the  faithful,  excluded  unbelievers,  and  were 
a  manifesto  to   the  world,   in   which  calumnies   were 


THE  BOOK  OF  DISCIPLINE  123 

answered,  and  the  truth  declared  to  all  who  were 
prepared  to  receive  it.  The  adversaries  of  Reform 
added  that  each  Confession  was  but  another  paper- 
pope,  to  the  letter  of  which  each  sectary  gave  and 
exacted  more  unquestioning  submission  than  any 
Catholic  to  the  decrees  of  councils  and  popes. 
Though  completed  in  the  short  space  of  four  days, 
the  Scottish  Confession  of  1560  has  always  been 
regarded  as  an  admirable  summary  of  the  faith  it 
embodies.  Till  the  Westminster  Confession  of  1647 
was  accepted  as  the  common  standard  of  English 
and  Scottish  Presbyterianism,  it  remained  the  founda- 
tion of  the  Church  of  Scotland  ;  and  even  after  that 
date,  it  was  still  this  Confession  of  Knox  and  his 
colleagues  to  which  the  Church  looked  as  the  purest 
expression  of  its  mind  and  heart.^ 

But  the  Book  of  Discipline  was  far  more  dis- 
tinctively the  product  of  the  Scottish  Reformation. 
The  conditions  out  of  which  it  sprang  were  peculiar 
to  Scotland  among  the  countries  which  embraced 
Reform.  Among  the  various  states  of  Germany 
which  left  Rome  for  Luther  we  have  no  parallel  to 
the  position  of  the  Reformers  in  Scotland.  As  a 
member  of  the  Empire,  no  German  state  formed 
an  individual  nation  like  Scotland  with  the  right  to 

^  According  to  Edward  Irving,  this  first  Confession  of  Scottish 
Reform  "  was  the  banner  of  the  Church  in  all  her  wrestlings  and 
conflicts  ;  the  Westminster  Confession,  but  as  the  camp  colours  which 
she  hath  used  during  her  days  of  peace — the  one  for  battle,  the  other 
for  fair  appearance  and  good  order"  {Collected  Writings^  i.  602, 
Lond.  1864).  It  is  interesting  to  compare  the  respective  chapters  on 
the  power  of  the  Civil  Magistrate  in  the  first  Scottish  Confession  and 
in  that  of  Calvin  (1537).  In  the  latter  the  rights  of  the  Church  are 
much  more  emphatically  pressed.  The  difference  of  statement  was 
due  to  the  fact  that  the  Scottish  Reformers  were  working  in  harmony 
with  the  leading  nobles,  while  Calvin  had  not  yet  attained  his  mastery 
in  civil  afTairs. 


124  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

follow  its  own  destinies  wherever  they  might  lead. 
The  church  orders  devised  by  the  different  Protestant 
States  have  many  points  in  common  with  the  Book  of 
Discipline ;  but  those  who  drafted  them  had  no  call 
and  had  no  power  to  frame  a  scheme  which  implied 
an  independent  national  life  in  the  people  for  which 
it  was  prepared.  In  Geneva  Calvin  wrought  under 
circumstances  widely  different  from  those  in  which 
Knox  did  his  kindred  work.  While  Calvin  had  to 
legislate  for  a  town  of  some  12,000  inhabitants  and 
a  few  adjoining  villages,  Knox  and  his  colleagues 
had  to  adjust  the  new  Church  to  the  needs  of  a 
Kingdom.  In  the  intricate  relations  of  ministers 
and  magistracy  Geneva  had  a  further  peculiarity  to 
which  there  was  no  close  analogy  in  Scotland.  Only 
after  a  struggle  of  fourteen  years  did  Calvin  attain 
the  power  which  the  Scottish  Reformed  Church 
possessed  from  the  beginning — that  of  refusing  the 
sacraments  to  unworthy  members.  In  England  a 
document  with  the  character,  aim,  and  scope  of  the 
Book  of  Discipline  had  never  been  a  possibility  at 
any  period  of  the  religious  revolution.  On  his  breach 
with  Rome  Henry  VIII.  dictated  the  creed  and  church 
order  which  the  nation  was  to  adopt.  The  Refoinnatio 
Legum  Ecclesiasticartmi,  prepared  by  Cranmer  and 
others  in  the  reign  of  Edward  VI.,  is  the  English 
analogue  to  the  Book  of  Discipline ;  but  it  bears  on 
its  face  the  difference  of  its  character  and  origin.  The 
English  document  is  much  the  lengthier  of  the  two ; 
but  its  authors  had  no  such  comprehensive  ends  before 
them  as  constitute  the  interest  of  the  Scottish  Book. 
One  essential  difference  between  the  two  documents, 
however,  reveals  the  gulf  that  separated  the  English 
from  the  Scottish  Reformers.     While  the  authors  of 


THE  BOOK  OF  DISCIPLINE  125 

the  Book  of  Discipline  merely  invoke  the  State  to 
give  validity  to  a  work  which  has  already  the  sanction 
of  Heaven,  the  English  book  is  delivered  to  the  nation 
as  the  simple  fiat  of  the  royal  will.^  In  the  religious 
settlement  under  Elizabeth  the  clergy  had  as  little 
influence  as  under  that  of  Elenry  VIII,  ;  and  this 
fact  alone  was  sufficient  to  preclude  a  common  re- 
ligious basis  between  England  and  Scotland.  A  year 
before  the  Scottish  Confession  and  Book  of  Discipline 
appeared,  the  Protestants  of  France  drew  up  their 
creed  and  church  order.  But  they  did  so  under 
circumstances  far  different  from  those  of  their  fellow- 
believers  in  Scotland.  While  the  Scottish  Protest- 
ants were  the  virtual  masters  of  the  situation,  the 
Huguenots,  in  the  words  of  one  of  their  own  historians, 
had  "no  protection  but  Heaven,  and  no  asylum  but 
caves  and  deserts."" 

Produced  under  special  circumstances,  therefore, 
the  Book  of  Discipline  has  a  character  and  scope  that 
distinguish  it  from  every  contemporary  document  of 
the  same  kind.  On  the  29th  April  1560,  the  ministers 
had  received  instructions  from  the  Protestant  Lords  to 
draw  up  a  scheme  for  the  reformation  of  religion,^  afid 
the  injunction  was  renewed  by  the  Parliament  of  the 
following  August.  By  the  25th  of  that  month  the 
Book  seems  to  have  been  completed,^  though  during 
the    following    months   it    may   have  undergone    con- 

1  Quapropter  omnes  homines  ad  quos  imperium  nostrum  ulla 
ratione  pertinet  Christianam  religionem  suscipere  et  profiteri  volumus 
et  jubemus. — Reformatio  Legmn  Ecclesiasticariim,  p.  i  (Lond.  1640). 

-  I.  D'Huisseau,  La  Discipli)ie  des  Aglises  Reformees,  p.  6  (Charen- 
ton,  1667).  ^    Works^  ii.  183,  184. 

■i  "Their  booke  of  comen  reformation  is  nowe  in  translatynge  into 
Latyne,  and  shalbe  sent  unto  Calvine,  Viret,  Beza,  in  Geneva,  to  Mr. 
Martyr,  Bullinger,  and  others .  in  Zurich." — Randolph  to  Cecil,  25th 
August  1560. 


126  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

siderable  modification.  Yet  even  as  we  now  have  it, 
the  Book  bears  traces  of  haste,  and  of  its  various 
authorship.  Terms  are  introduced  before  they  are 
defined  ;  there  is  much  needless  repetition  ;  and  sub- 
jects are  separated  which  logically  fall  under  identical 
heads.  But  these  defects  of  composition  do  not 
touch  the  unity  and  main  drift  of  the  Book,  which  is 
emphatically  an  organic  whole — the  product  at  once 
of  clearly  defined  aims  and  of  enthusiastic  feeling. 

As  the  preface  to  the  Book  bears,  it  was  composed 
at  the  express  command  of  the  Great  Council  of  Scot- 
land.^ Its  authors  also  address  the  Lords  in  a  tone  of  due 
respect  and  humility.  But  while  they  thus  profess  to 
wait  on  the  sanction  of  the  state  for  their  work,  we  cannot 
misunderstand  their  real  feeling  as  to  the  relation  of 
Church  and  State.  We  have  seen  what  importance  Knox 
attached  to  Mary's  ratification  of  the  religious  changes 
made  by  the  Estates  in  1560.  Religion,  he  says, 
"  neideth  nott  the  suffrage  of  man,  but  in  so  far  as 
man  hath  neid  to  beleve  it."-  In  the  epilogue  to  the 
Book  its  authors  finish  in  a  strain  which  proves  how 
far  they  were  from  regarding  themselves  as  suppliants 
waiting  on  the  will  of  nobles  and  princes.  "  Yf 
obedientlie,"  they  say,  "ye  hear  God  now  calling, 
we  doubt  not  but  he  shall  hear  you  in  your  greatest 
necessitie.  But  yf,  following  youre  awin  corrupt  judg- 
mentis,  ye  contempt  \sic\  his  voice  and  vocatioun,  we  ar 
assured  that  your  formare  iniquitie  and  present  ingrati- 
tude, shall  togither  crave  just  punishment  frome  God, 
who  can  not  long  delay  to  execute  his  most  just  judg- 
mentis,  when  after  many  offenses  and  long  blyndness, 
grace  and  mercy  offered  is  contemptuouslie  refused."  ^ 

1    Works^  ii.  183,  184. 
2  Ibid.  p.  126.  2  /^/^_  pp_  256,  257. 


THE  BOOK  OF  DISCIPLINE  127 

As  will  presently  be  seen,  the  authors  of  the  Book 
of  Discipline  drew  freely  on  the  church  orders  of 
the  different  Protestant  churches.^  To  two  of  these 
churches,  however,  they  owed  so  special  a  debt  that  it 
deserves  to  be  emphasised.  It  is  impossible  to  read 
the  OrdoJinances  of  the  Church  of  Geneva  between 
1537  and  1554  without  the  conviction  that  they  form 
the  main  source  from  which  the  Scottish  Reformers  took 
their  model  and  inspiration. ^  After  Geneva,  the  formul- 
ary of  the  German  Church,  founded  in  London  in  1550, 
undoubtedly  contributed  most  materially  to  the  Scottish 
book.  With  the  chief  minister  of  that  Church,  the 
Polish  nobleman,  John  a  Lasco,  Knox  must  have  been 
acquainted  during  his  five  years'  sojourn  in  England. 
On  the  death  of  Edward  VI.,  a  Lasco,  with  the  other 
foreign  Protestants  settled  in  England,  had  to  seek  a 
new  asylum  on  the  Continent.  Like  Knox,  also,  he 
had  for  a  time  made  his  stay  in  Frankfort-on-the-Main  ; 
and  it  was  there  that  in  1555  he  drew  up  the  elaborate 
formulary  of  the  Church  to  which  he  ministered.^  In 
all  probability  the  work  of  a  Lasco  fell  into  Knox's 
hands  during  his  residence  in  Geneva  ;  and  its  general 
drift  and  character  must  have  met  his  ardent  approval. 
Thoroughly  Calvinistic  in  spirit,  a  Lasco's  book  enters 

^  Cf.  passim  vol.  ii.  of  "  Die  evangelischen  Kirchenordnungen  des 
sechszehnten  Jahrhunderts — Urkunden  und  Regesten  zur  Geschichte  des 
Rechts  und  der  Verfassung  der  evangelischen  Kirche  in  Deutschland, 
herausgegeben  von  Dr.  Aemilius  Ludwig  Richter  (1846)." 

-  These  Ordonnances  are  all  given  in  vol.  x.  part  i.  of  Calvin's  Works 
in  the  Corpus  Reformatoruni. 

^  "  Forma  ac  ratio  tota  ecclesiastici  Ministerii,  in  peregrinorum, 
potissimum  vero  Germanorum  Ecclesia  :  instituta  Londini  in  Anglia,  per 
Pientissimum  Principem  Angliae  etc.  Regem  Eduardum,  ejus  nomini 
sextu ;  Anno  post  Christum  natum  1550.  Addito  ad  calcem  libelli 
Privilegio  suae  Majestatis. — Autore  Joanne  a  Lasco  Poloniae  Barone." — 
It  is  printed  in  the  edition  of  k  Lasco's  Works  published  at  Amsterdam 
in  1866. 


128  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

into  details  of  church  order  and  government,  which 
have  no  place  in  the  Genevan  ordinances — for  thesimple 
reason  that  there  was  no  need  to  consider  them.  In 
what  follows  it  may  be  sufficient  to  indicate  casually  the 
extent  to  which  Calvin  and  a  Lasco  contributed  to  the 
framework  of  the  Scottish  book. 

The  Book  of  Discipline  fills  seventy -five  large 
octavo  pages — the  various  matters  of  which  it  treats 
being  classed  under  nine  heads.  The  opening  sentence 
unflinchingly  announces  the  revolutionary  character  of 
its  proposals.  All  doctrine  contrary  to  the  evangel 
must  be  suppressed  as  "  damnabill  to  manis  salvatioun." 
In  spite  of  the  modest  disclaimer  in  their  Confession  of 
Faith,  this  was,  in  truth,  but  to  say  in  other  words  that 
the  new  Book  was  to  be  unconditionally  received  by 
every  Scotsman  at  the  peril  of  soul  and  substance.  In 
keeping  with  this  significant  announcement  the  authors 
logically  give  the  first  place  to  a  statement  of  what 
they  considered  the  true  doctrine  to  be.  The  true 
doctrine,  they  say,  is  what  is  contained  in  the  Old  and 
New  Testaments  ;  and  the  false,  what  is  contrary  to 
either  of  them.  The  test  of  all  true  doctrine  being 
thus  laid  down,  the  Sacraments  are  next  considered  as 
being  essential  concomitants  of  an  evangelical  Church. 
In  the  opinion  of  all  the  Protestant  Reformers,  Luther  as 
well  as  Calvin,  the  corruption  of  the  Church  of  Rome 
was  in  nothing  more  heinous  than  in  its  teaching  and 
practice  with  regard  to  the  sacraments.  As  in  every 
Protestant  Order,  therefore,  this  head  is  treated  with 
special  fulness  and  precision.  It  is  taken  for  granted 
that  only  two  sacraments,  Baptism  and  the  Lord's 
Supper,  have  any  warrant  in  Scripture.  In  the  ad- 
ministration of  each  there  were  special  evils  to  be 
avoided,  which  had  been  notoriously  illustrated  in  the 


THE  BOOK  OF  DISCIPLINE  129 

practice  of  Rome.  Baptism  had  come  to  be  regarded 
as  a  magical  rite  indispensable  to  salvation.  To  pre- 
clude this  delusion,  children  were  to  be  baptized  in 
church,  and  after  a  discourse  explaining  the  nature  of 
the  ordinance.  In  the  case  of  the  Lord's  Supper  there 
were  two  attendant  evils  which  it  was  the  duty  of  the 
Church  to  avert  by  all  the  means  in  its  power :  the 
one  was  the  "  superstitioun  of  tymes,"  and  the  other 
the  danger  to  true  religion  of  unworthy  communicants. 
To  obviate  the  first  the  ordinance  was  to  be  celebrated 
only  four  times  a  year,^  feast-days  of  the  Roman  Church 
being  specially  avoided.  As  to  the  right  of  the  Church 
to  exclude  from  the  table,  the  authors  of  the  Book  take 
it  for  granted  ;  and  the  subsequent  history  of  Scottish 
Presbyterianism  proves  how  vigorously  they  used  it. 
Following  these  positive  ordinances  on  doctrine  and 
the  sacraments,  comes  a  negative  head  on  Idolatry. 
Truth  and  falsehood,  it  is  argued,  cannot  co-exist ;  and 
if  the  new  Church  is  to  have  its  foundation  sure,  every 
home  of  the  ancient  superstition  must  be  cleared  from 
their  midst. 

The  spiritual  foundation  of  the  Church  being  thus 
laid,  the  remaining  six  heads  propound  the  means 
whereby  it  shall   best  take  body  and  substance.     To 

^  It  is  interesting  to  note  Calvin's  earlier  opinions  regarding  the 
fitting  times  for  celebrating  the  Lord's  Supper.  In  1536  he  wrote 
"  Qu'il  serait  bien  k  desirer  que  la  Cene  de  Jesus  Christ  se  distribuat 
au  moins  tous  les  dimanches,  car  elle  a  ete  institute  pour  que  nous  y 
soyons  faits  participants  du  corps  et  du  sang  de  Jesus,  de  sa  mort,  de 
sa  vie,  de  son  esprit  et  de  tous  ses  biens.  Mais  ce  frequent  usage  de  la 
Cene,  regu  dans  I'ancienne  Eglise,  a  ete  aboli  par  I'abomination  des 
messes,  ou  il  a  ete  etabli  qu'un  seul  communierait  pour  tous."  And 
he  proposes  that  the  sacrament  should  be  celebrated  once  a  month 
in  each  of  the  three  Genevan  churches.  —  Albert  Rilliet,  Thdophile 
Dufour,  Le  Catcchisme  franqais  de  Calvin,  pp.  xxiii.-xxiv.  (Geneva, 
1878).  \x\\h^Book  of  Common  Order  (1564),  it  is  stated  that  the 
Lord's  Supper  "  commonly  is  used  once  a  month." — Knox,  Works, 
vi.  324. 

VOL.   II  9 


I30  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

this  end  an  efficient  ministry  is  the  first  and  indispen- 
sable condition.  The  fourth  head,  therefore,  deals 
with  the  "  election,  examination,  and  admission  "  of 
ministers.  While  in  Geneva  the  right  of  election  lay 
with  the  ministers,^  in  the  Book  of  Discipline,  as  in 
a  Lasco's  order,^  it  is  emphatically  stated  that  this 
right  lay  with  the  congregation.  In  another  im- 
portant circumstance  election  in  Scotland  differed 
both  from  the  rule  of  Calvin  and  a  Lasco.  In  the 
ordinances  of  Geneva  and  of  a  Lasco  it  is  expressly 
stated  that  the  election  of  the  minister  must  be  supple- 
mented by  an  oath  to  the  magistrate, — in  Geneva  to 
the  Council,  in  England  to  the  king.^  It  indicates  the 
high  ground  taken  by  the  Scottish  Reformers  that  no 
such  oath  is  even  suggested  in  the  Book  of  Discipline. 
For  the  rules  regarding  the  "  examination  "  of  those 
nominated  by  the  congregation,  a  Lasco  and  not 
Calvin  supplied  the  model.^  In  the  ceremony  of 
"  admission "  we  have  another  divergence  from  the 
practice  of  other  Churches  which  marks  the  inde- 
pendent action  of  the  Scottish  Reformers.  "  Other 
ceremonie,"  they  say,  "  then  the  publict  approbatioun 
of  the  peple  and  declaratioun  of  the  cheiff  minister 
that  the  persone  thair  presented  is  appoynted  to  serve 
that  Kirk,  we  can  nott  approve  ;  for  albeit  the  Apos- 
tillis  used  the  impositioun  of  handis,  yet  seing  the 
mirakle  is  ceassed,  the  using  of  the  ceremonie  we 
juge  is  nott  necessarie."^ 

1  Calvin,  Opera,  vol.  x.  part  i.  p.  17. 

2  A  Lasco,  Opera,  ii.  65-67. 

3  Calvin,  Opera,  vol.  x.  part  i.  p.  18  ;  h.  Lasco,  Opera,  ii.  65-67. 
^  A  Lasco,  Opera,  ii.  69  ei  seq. 

5  Works,  ii.  193.  A  Lasco  approved  the  laying  on  of  hands. — 
Opera,  ii.  72.  Though  the  Scottish  Reformers  took  so  much  from 
^  Lasco,  in  this  matter  they  followed  Calvin. — Calvin,  Opera,  vol.  x. 
part  i.  p.  18. 


THE  BOOK  OF  DISCIPLINE  131 

It  was  one  thing  to  lay  down  these  high  standards 
for  an  efficient  ministry  ;  but  where  were  the  persons 
of  the  requisite  gifts  and  graces  to  be  found  ?  "  We 
are  not  ignorant,"  they  say,  "that  the  raritie  of  godHe 
and  learned  men  sail  seme  to  some  a  just  reassone 
quhy  that  so  strait  and  scharpe  examinatioun  suld  not 
be  takin  universallie."^  To  remedy  this  defect  a 
recommendation  is  given  which  reveals  the  vast 
function  they  claimed  for  the  Church.  Your  Honours, 
the  Lords  are  told,  "  with  consent  of  the  Kirk,  are 
bound  by  your  authoritie  to  compell  suche  men  as  have 
giftis  and  graces  able  to  edifie  the  Kirk  of  God,  that 
thai  bestow  thame  quhair  greittest  necessitie  salbe 
knawin  ;  for  no  man  may  be  permitit  to  leve  idill,  or 
as  thame  self  list,  but  must  be  appointed  to  travell 
quhair  your  Wisdomes  and  the  Kirk  sail  think 
expedient."  ^ 

Meanwhile,  to  supply  the  lack  of  ministers  a  class 
of  men  was  created  whose  duties  were  defined  with 
careful  precision.  These  were  to  be  known  as  Readers, 
and  their  chief  function  was  to  read  the  Common 
Prayers  ^  and  Scriptures  in  such  churches  as  were  not 
supplied  with  ministers.'*  Not  till  they  were  admitted 
to  the  ministry,  however,  were  these  readers  either  to 
preach  or  to  administer  the  sacraments.  Like  their 
prototypes,  the  dodeurs  in  Geneva,  the  readers  might 
also  be  entrusted  with  the  duty  of  instructing  the 
young  in  the  elements  of  religion.  Subsequently 
these  readers  gave  frequent  trouble  by  usurping  the 
functions  of  ministers  ;  but  it  is  evident  that  as  a  class 

1    Works,  ii.  194.  -  Ibid.  p.   195. 

3  See  above,  i.  327,  note  i. 

4  The  idea  of  these  readers  was  doubtless  taken  from  the  docteurs 
in  Geneva.  In  the  primitive  Christian  Church  the  anagnostes  or  lector 
performed  duties  analogous  to  those  assigned  to  the  readers. 


132  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

they  were  well  fitted  to  do  excellent  service  to  the 
new  Church/ 

Under  the  fifth  head  the  authors  had  to  deal  with 
a  subject  which  engaged  neither  Calvin  nor  a  Lasco, — 
an  adequate  provision  for  all  who  had  claims  on  the 
Church.  Though  afterwards  so  miserably  deceived, 
they  take  for  granted  that  the  entire  inheritance  of  the 
ancient  Church  is  to  be  at  their  disposal.  As  far  as 
was  practicable,  every  separate  congregation  was  to 
be  self-supporting.  With  regard  to  the  ministers  pro- 
vision was  to  be  made  "not  onlie  for  thair  awin 
sustentatioun  during  thair  lyiffes,  but  also  for  thair 
wiffis  and  childrene  eftir  thame."^  Readers  were 
to  be  remunerated  at  a  rate  proportioned  to  the 
inferiority  of  their  office.  To  each  Church,  also,  is 
assigned  the  support  of  the  poor  within  its  own 
bounds  ;  and  in  this  connection  we  have  another  proof 
of  the  extended  sphere  of  action  assumed  by  the 
Church  of  the  Reformation.  A  sentence  like  the 
following  suggests  the  Statute-book  rather  than  a 
document  expressly  dealing  with  ecclesiastical  order : 
"  All  must  not  be  suffered  to  beg  that  gladlie  so  wald 
do ;  neather  yit  most  beggaris  remane  whare  thei 
chuse  ;  but  the  stout  and  strong  beggar  must  be  com- 
pelled to  wirk,  and  everie  persoun  that  may  nocht 
wirk,  must  be  compelled  to  repair  to  the  place  whare 
he  or  scho  was  born  (unles  of  long  continuance  thai 
have  remaned  in  one  place),  and  thair  reassonable 
provisioun  must  be  maid  for  thair  sustentatioun,  as  the 
Churche  shall  appoint."  ^ 

Besides  the  ministers,  the  readers,  and  the  poor, 

^   In  the  Second  Book  of  Discipline  it  is  affirmed  that  the  office  of 
reader  "  is  no  ordinary  office  within  the  Kirk  of  God." 

2    Works ^  ii.   197.  s  /^/V/.,p.  201. 


THE  BOOK  OF  DISCIPLINE  133 

there  was  still  another  class  for  whom  the  Church 
must  make  temporary  provision.  The  great  problem 
before  Knox  and  his  associates  was  to  meet  the 
spiritual  needs  of  the  people  with  the  inadequate 
means  at  their  disposal.  Ministers  in  sufficient 
numbers  were  not  forthcoming ;  and  the  readers, 
being  privileged  neither  to  preach  nor  to  administer 
the  sacraments,  could  not  satisfactorily  supply  their 
place.  In  their  strait  the  authors  of  the  Book  of 
Discipline  took  a  suggestion,  not  from  Geneva,^  but 
from  the  Protestant  Churches  of  Germany,  and  from 
that  of  the  Foreigners  in  London.  In  Germany  an 
important  function  had  been  assigned  to  a  class  of 
persons  known  as  Superattendenten  or  Superinten- 
denten,^  and  the  name  and  function  had  been  adopted 
by  the  Church  under  the  charge  of  a  Lasco.  In 
adopting  this  office  the  Scottish  Reformers  assigned  it 
a  character  and  function  suitable  at  once  to  their  own 
views  and  their  special  circumstances.  Both  in  Ger- 
many and  by  the  Church  in  London  the  superintendent 
is  recognised  as  a  permanent  official  with  a  definite 
charge  over  the  affairs  of  the  churches  within  a 
district  assigned  to  him.      In  Scotland  the  office  was 

^  The  circumstances  of  the  Church  in  Geneva  did  not  necessitate 
superintendents.  The  nearest  approach  to  the  office  was  that  of  the 
visitors^  regarding  whom  we  have  the  following  direction  in  an 
ordinance  of  1546.  "  Premierement,  affin  de  conserver  bonne  union 
de  doctrine  en  tout  le  corps  de  lesglise  de  Geneve,  cest  a  dire  tant  en  la 
ville  aux  parroiches  dependantes  de  la  seigneurie.  Que  le  magistrat 
elise  deux  des  seigneurs  de  leur  conseil  et  semblablement  les  ministres 
en  elisent  deux  de  leur  congregation  qui  ayent  la  charge  daller  une  foys 
Ian  visiter  chascune  parroiche  pour  senquerir  si  le  ministre  du  lieu 
auroit  point  mys  en  avant  quelque  doctrine  nouvelle  et  repugnante  a  la 
purite  de  levangile." — Calvin,  Opera,  vol.  x.  part  i.  pp.  43,  44. 

^  They  were  appointed  by  the  civil  magistrate,  and  their  duties 
mainly  consisted  in  supervision  of  the  ordinary  ministers. — Cf  Richter, 
Die  Evangelischcn  KircJieiiordnungcn  des  sccJiszeJintcn  Jahrhiinderts,  vol. 
ii.  {passhn). 


134  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

to  be  merely  temporary,  as  the  reason  for  its  existence 
would  be  removed  as  soon  as  ministers  were  forth- 
coming to  meet  the  wants  of  the  people.  In  the 
following  sentences  we  have  both  the  grounds  for  the 
appointment  of  superintendents,  and  a  clear  definition 
of  their  duties  :  "  We  considder  that  yf  the  Ministeris 
whome  God  hath  endewed  with  his  [singular]  graces 
amangis  us,  should  be  appointed  to  severall  and  cer- 
tane  placis,  thair  to  mak  thair  continuall  residence, 
that  then  the  greatest  part  off  this  Realme  should  be 
destitute  of  all  doctrine  ;  whiche  should  not  onlie  be 
occasioun  of  greate  murmure,  but  also  should  be 
dangerus  to  the  salvatioun  of  manye.  And  thairfore 
we  have  thocht  it  a  thing  most  expedient  for  this 
tyme  that  frome  the  whole  nomber  of  godlie  and 
learned  [men]  now  presentlie  in  this  Realme,  be 
selected  twelf  or  ten  (for  in  sa  mony  Provincis  have 
we  divideit  the  hoill),  to  whome  charge  and  com- 
mandiment  shalbe  given  to  plant  and  erect  churches 
to  set  ordour  and  appoint  ministeris  (as  the  former 
Ordour  prescribeth)  to  the  contreis  that  sail  be 
appointed  to  thair  cayre  whaire  none  ar  now."^ 

1  IVoris,  ii.  202.  It  was  in  connection  with  the  office  of  superin- 
tendents that  the  authors  of  the  Book  of  DiscipHne  drew  most 
largely  on  the  work  of  k  Lasco.  In  Knox  (ii.  144  ef  seq.)  we 
have  "The  Forme  and  Ordour  of  the  Electioun  of  the  Superintendents, 
quhilk  they  serve  also  in  Electioun  of  all  uther  ministers."  By 
printing  passages  in  parallel  columns  Dr.  Mitchell  has  shown  that 
in  many  parts  the  Scottish  form  is  virtually  a  translation  from  that 
of  k  Lasco." — The  Wedderbitr)is  and  their  Work,  pp.  831?/  seq.  (Black- 
wood and  Sons,  1867).  Nevertheless,  as  stated  in  the  text,  the  Super- 
intendent of  the  Book  of  Discipline  differs  from  the  same  official  in  the 
Church  of  the  Foreigners  both  in  the  special  function  assigned  to  him, 
and  in  the  temporary  character  of  his  office.  It  was  formerly  main- 
tained by  certain  writers  that  superintendents  were  only  bishops  under 
another  name.  From  the  account  of  the  superintendents  in  the  text  it 
will  be  seen  that  the  authors  of  the  Book  of  Discipline  specially  aimed 
at  preventing  such  a  misunderstanding.  This  is  now  recognised  by 
historians  of  all  shades  of  religious  opinion. 


THE  BOOK  OF  DISCIPLINE  135 

Still  under  the  head  of  the  distribution  of  the 
Church's  revenues,  the  subject  of  education  is  next 
considered.  For  no  part  of  the  Book  of  Discipline  have 
its  authors  received  greater  credit  than  for  their  pro- 
jected system  of  national  education.  Here,  as  elsewhere, 
they  owed  many  hints  to  other  Churches  ;  yet  no  section 
of  their  work  is  at  once  so  admirable  and  so  original 
in  conception.  Luther,  Melanchthon,  and  Calvin,  were 
as  eager  in  the  cause  of  education  as  any  Scottish 
Reformer  ;  but  their  position  never  called  them  to  con- 
template a  system  of  public  instruction  which  should 
be  co-extensive  with  the  wants  of  a  nation.  In  the 
Liber  Visitatorins  (1528)  drawn  up  by  Melanchthon, 
and  approved  by  Luther,  due  place  is  assigned  to 
education  among  other  matters  to  be  looked  to  by  a 
well-organised  Church  ;  but  from  the  limited  scope  of 
Melanchthon's  suggestions  the  Scottish  Reformers  could 
have  learned  little  or  nothing  for  their  special  purpose.^ 
In  Geneva  the  efforts  of  the  ministers  had  been 
confined  to  the  establishment  of  a  great  institution 
which,  like  the  mediaeval  university,  should  be  at  once 
an  elementary  school,  a  secondary  school,  and  a  uni- 
versity." In  Cranmer's  Reformatio  a  section  is  devoted 
to  education ;  but  its  authors  had  no  thought  of  a 
system  of  public  instruction  which  should  embrace  all 
vTanks  of  the  people.  To  create  such  a  system  was 
precisely  the  task  to  which  the  authors  of  the  Book  of 
Discipline  addressed  themselves.      Taken    in    detail, 

1  In  the  Liber  Vtsitaforhis,  Melanchthon  merely  lays  down  the 
subjects  to  be  studied  in  the  three  grades  into  which  he  divides  his 
educational  curriculum.  —  Opera,  vol.  xxvi.  pp.  90  et  scq.  (Bret- 
schneider). 

2  The  Ordo7ina7ices  of  the  Genevan  Academy  are  given  in  Calvin's 
Opera,  vol.  x.  part  i.  pp.  65  £>/  scq.  In  my  Life  of  Buchanaii  (chap,  xv.) 
and  in  my  edition  of  his  Vernactdar  Writings  (Scottish  Text  Society) 
I  have  spoken  at  length  on  the  relation  of  Geneva  to  Scottish  education. 


136  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

there  was  no  part  of  their  scheme  which  was  strictly 
original.  Where  their  merit  lies  was  in  the  thorough- 
ness, the  comprehensiveness,  the  vigorous  purpose 
with  which  they  conceived  the  idea  of  national  in- 
struction as  an  organised  whole.  From  no  foreign 
source  does  it  appear  that  they  could  have  borrowed 
a  model  that  would  have  met  the  objects  they  had  in 
view. 

The  scheme  proposed  was  a  graduated  system  of 
elementary  schools,  secondary  schools,  and  universities. 
The  ancient  Church  had  endeavoured  with  imperfect 
success  to  establish  schools  in  connection  with  every 
parish  church.^  On  this  arrangement  the  authors  of 
the  Book  insisted  as  indispensable  to  the  well-being  of 
Church  and  State.  Each  church  was  to  be  at  charges 
for  its  own  teacher,  and  for  the  instruction  of  the  poorer 
children  of  the  parish.  The  subjects  to  be  taught  in 
these  primary  schools  were  Grammar,  Latin,  and  the 
Catechism  in  English  - — four  years  being  the  maximum 
length  of  attendance.  Attendance  was  compulsory 
both  for  rich  and  poor;  for  this,  it  is  said,  "must  be 
cairfullie  provideit  that  no  fader,  of  what  estait  or 
condition  that  ever  he  be,  use  his  children  at  his  awin 

^  This  may  be  inferred  from  the  accounts  pi'eserved  regarding 
education  in  Scotland  prior  to  the  Reformation.  See  Grant,  Biwgh 
Schools  of  Scotland,  Part  I.  In  preparing  the  section  on  Education  in 
the  Book  of  Disciphne,  its  author  may  have  had  before  him  the  Co7i- 
sultatio  of  Hermann,  Archbishop  of  Cologne,  published  in  1543,  and 
translated  into  English  in  1548.  Among  other  reforms  in  his  diocese, 
Hermann  proposes  to  establish  a  Latin  school  in  every  town,  large  and 
small,  and  one  great  theological  school  at  Bonn.  In  one  or  two 
passages  the  phraseology  of  the  Book  of  Discipline  closely  approaches 
that  of  Hermann.  In  Hermann,  however,  there  is  nothing  to  suggest  the 
comprehensive  treatment  of  national  education,  which  is  the  distinguish- 
ing characteristic  of  the  Scottish  Book. 

2  This  "  Catechism  "  was  embodied  in  the  Book  of  Common  Order, 
or  Order  of  Geneva,  which  had  been  compiled  for  the  use  of  the  English 
Congregation  in  Geneva. 


THE  BOOK  OF  DISCIPLINE  137 

fantasie,  especiallie  in  thair  youth-heade ;  but  all  must 
be  compelled  to  bring  up  thair  children  in  learnyng 
and  virtue." 

By  regular  visitation  and  examination  the  aptest 
pupils  in  the  elementary  schools  were  to  be  selected 
and  compelled  to  proceed  to  the  secondary  schools, 
which,  after  the  model  of  the  cathedral  schools  of  the 
Middle  Age,  were  to  be  established  in  "  everie  notable 
toun,  and  especiallie  in  the  toun  of  the  Superintendent."^ 
The  secondary  school  was  to  be  of  the  nature  of  a 
college  with  provision  both  for  the  board  and  educa- 
tion of  the  scholars.-  Here,  also,  attendance  was 
compulsory,  poor  scholars  being  supported  at  the 
public  expense.  The  subjects  taught  in  the  colleges 
were  Latin,  Greek,  Logic,  and  Rhetoric.  At  the 
close  of  this  second  course,  scholars  were  again  to 
be  tested,  and  the  most  promising  sent  to  the  uni- 
versity, there  to  be  prepared  for  the  church,  law,  or 
medicine. 

In  proportion  to  its  population  Scotland  was  perhaps 
better  supplied  with  universities  than  any  other  country 
in  Europe;  yet  none  of  the  three,  St.  Andrews,  Glasgow, 
or  Aberdeen — was  in  anything  like  a  desirable  state 
of  efficiency.  This  was  not  only  due  to  the  fact  that 
the  endowments  of  all  three  were  inadequate  to  their 
ends.  Even  more  than  from  want  of  funds  they  had 
suffered  from  defective  organisation  and  the  absence 
of  central  supervision.  In  St.  Andrews  the  three 
colleges,  which  composed  the  university,  had  no 
common  understanding,  and  by  their  overlapping 
functions  produced  needless  rivalry  and  unnecessary 
expense.  By  the  proposals  of  the  Book  of  Discipline 
this  state  of  affairs  would  have  been  set  right  once  and 

1    Wo7'ks.  ii.  210.  ^  Ibid. 


138  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

for  all.  The  scope  and  function  of  each  college  was 
clearly  defined,  and  all  were  to  be  brought  into  organic 
connection  with  the  elementary  and  secondary  schools. 
At  Glasgow  and  Aberdeen  there  were  to  be  two 
colleges,  and  at  St.  Andrews,  as  the  most  important, 
there  were  to  be  three. ^  With  regard  to  these  colleges, 
the  arrangements  proposed  for  St.  Andrews  may  be 
taken  as  the  model.  Before  the  student  could  enter 
the  university  he  had  to  produce  testimonials  as  to 
his  character  and  attainments  from  the  minister  and 
teacher  of  the  town  whence  he  came.  These  being 
satisfactory,  he  had  to  undergo  an  examination  pre- 
scribed by  the  university  itself  In  the  first  college 
there  were  to  be  four  courses — Dialectics,  Mathematics, 
Physics,  and  Medicine,  of  which  the  first  three  were 
compulsory  for  all,  and  occupied  three  years.  At  the 
close  of  this  term  the  student  might  graduate  in 
philosophy  if  he  passed  the  prescribed  "  try  ell  and 
examinatioun."  This  stage  of  his  studies  over,  he 
had  to  choose  between  law,  medicine,  and  theology. 
If  his  choice  were  medicine,  he  remained  in  the  first 
college,  and,  after  a  curriculum  of  two  years,  was  in  a 
position  to  take  his  diploma  as  a  practitioner  of  physic. 
Should  he  choose  theology  or  law,  he  must  proceed 
to  the  second  college,  where  courses  were  provided  in 
moral  philosophy  and  civil  law.  After  a  year's  course 
in  philosophy  he  had  next  to  decide  between  the  law 
and  the  Church.  If  he  chose  the  former,  he  remained 
in  the  second  college,  and  after  four  years  he  might 
pass  to  the  doctorate  of  laws.  Choosing  the  Church, 
he  entered  the  third  college,  which  was  exclusively 
devoted  to  the  study  of  theology.  Here  a  five  years* 
course  in  Greek,  Hebrew,  and  Divinity,  qualified  him 

1   In  every  college  there  were  to  be  twenty-four  bursars. 


THE  BOOK  OF  DISCIPLINE  139 

to  proceed  to  graduation  in  theology/  and,  thereafter, 
to  be  ehgible  as  a  minister  of  the  church.  By  the 
age  of  twenty-four  it  was  definitively  prescribed 
that  "the  learnar  most  be  removed  to  serve  the 
Churche  or  Commoun-wealth."  ^ 

From  this  account  of  the  educational  system  pro- 
posed by  Knox  and  his  colleagues  it  will  appear  that 
it  was  planned  on  lines  already  laid  down  by  the 
ancient  Church.  The  universities  already  existed,  the 
cathedral  schools  suggested  the  colleges  in  the  head- 
quarters of  the  superintendents,  and  the  idea  of  parish 
schools  was  not  the  birth  of  the  Scottish  Reformation. 
From  the  Church  of  Rome,  also,  the  authors  of  the 
Book  of  Discipline  directly  derived  the  notion  that 
from  base  to  summit  education  must  be  controlled  and 
directed  by  the  Church.  Scholars,  teachers,  and 
subjects  taught,  must  alike  be  regulated  by  the 
standards  of  the  Church's  faith,  and  in  the  interest  of 
the  Church's  welfare.^  Under  the  system  projected 
by  the  Scottish  Reformers  it  may  be  safely  said  that 
freedom  of  thought  would  have  been  less  possible 
than  in  any  mediaeval  university.  The  regret  has 
often  been  expressed  that  this  system  was  never 
carried  out,  as  it  was  conceived  by  its  authors.  Yet 
it   may  be   fairly  questioned   if  Scotland   would  have 

1  In  the  mediaeval  universities  the  doctorate  in  theology  could  not 
be  taken  before  the  age  of  thirty-five. 

2  Students  in  advanced  life  were  the  greatest  source  of  trouble  in 
the  mediaeval  universities.  Cf.  Bass  MuUinger,  The  Ufiiversiiy  of  Cam- 
bridge, p.  131. 

^  In  the  year  of  his  death  Knox  wrote  as  follows  :  "  Above  all 
things  preserve  the  Kirk  from  the  bondage  of  the  Universities. 
Persuade  them  to  rule  themselves  peaceably,  and  order  their  schools 
in  Christ ;  but  subject  never  the  pulpit  to  their  Judgment,  neither  yet 
exempt  them  from  your  Jurisdiction"  {Works,  vi.  619).  As  will  after- 
wards be  seen,  there  was  an  immediate  special  cause  for  this  utterance 
of  Knox. 


I40  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

thriven  the  better  by  imprisonment  in  an  iron  frame- 
work, the  very  excellence  of  whose  structure  would 
have  preserved  it  from  all  modification  from  within 
and  without.  But  such  criticism  is  an  injustice  to  the 
men  who  conceived  an  ideal  in  advance  of  anything 
that  Christian  Europe  could  yet  show.  It  must  not 
be  forgotten  that  they  have  the  supreme  merit  of 
conceiving  education,  not  as  the  privilege  of  a  class, 
but  as  a  common  need  and  ri^ht  of  all.  The  mediaeval 
Church  was  very  far  from  neglecting  the  general 
interests  of  education  ;  but  the  idea  of  public  in- 
struction, equally  within  the  reach  of  every  section  of 
society,  was  incompatible  with  the  civil  and  religious 
principles  on  which  mediaevalism  was  based. 

As  we  have  seen,  it  was  declared  to  be  the  Church's 
duty  to  make  provision  for  the  superintendents, 
masters,  readers,  parish-school  teachers,  and  the  poor. 
But  in  the  ruin  of  the  old  Church  the  question  rose 
where  the  revenue  was  to  be  found  to  meet  these 
responsibilities.  Under  the  sixth  head,  this  question 
is  treated  with  a  candour  of  statement  and  precision  of 
detail  which  could  not  be  welcome  to  many  of  the 
Lords  to  whose  approval  the  Book  was  submitted.  It 
was  this  special  section,  indeed,  that  determined  the 
fate  of  the  Book,  and  suggested  the  sarcastic  description 
of  its  whole  contents  as  "devote  imaginationis."  The 
authors  of  the  Book  in  the  first  place  made  un- 
hesitating claim  to  the  inheritance  of  the  Church  they 
had  displaced.  But  a  double  difficulty  lay  in  the  way 
of  their  giving  effect  to  this  claim.  Was  it  just  that 
the  old  clergy  should  be  deprived  of  the  means  of 
subsistence,  even  though  they  were  the  ministers  of 
Satan    and    not    of    the    truth  ?^      This    difficulty,    it 

1   Knox  had  consulted  Calvin  regarding  this  question.      In  Calvin's 


THE  BOOK  OF  DISCIPLINE  141 

would  seem,  was  purposely  left  for  the  Great  Council 
to  settle,  and  the  authors  make  no  suggestion  as  to 
the  best  method  of  solving  it.  But  it  was  another 
difficulty  that  was  the  rock  ahead  in  every  plan  for 
the  satisfactory  settlement  of  the  Reformed  Church. 
For  many  years  before  the  revolution  of  1560 
ecclesiastical  property  had  been  passing  into  the  hands 
of  the  nobles,  barons,  and  gentry.  From  the  Book  of 
Discipline  itself  we  learn  that  the  possessions  which 
had  chano^ed  hands  must  have  amounted  to  a  con- 
siderable  proportion  of  the  entire  revenue  of  the 
Church.  In  most  cases,  also,  the  exchange  had  been 
effected  under  forms  of  law  which  rendered  it  difficult 
for  the  Church  to  recover  its  own.^  In  the  unsettle- 
ment  which  preceded  the  Reformation,  the  beneficed 
clergy  had  increasing  difficulty  in  drawing  the  revenues 
of  their  charges  ;  and  under  these  circuitistances,  and 
with  the  consent  of  the  Pope  himself,"  they  made  over 
the  Church's  claims  to  powerful  laymen,  who  assured 
them  at  least  a  moiety  of  their  income. 

But  if  the  new  Church  was  to  discharge  its  duty  to 
the  nation,  these  laymen  must  be  prepared  to  meet  its 
just  claims.  It  was  largely  through  their  influence  that 
true  religion  had  at  length  triumphed  over  its  adver- 
saries, and  on  them,  therefore,  it  specially  lay  that  the 
Reformed  Church  should  present  such  a  face  as  would 
prove  to  the  world  the  divinity  of  its  origin.  Under 
the  head  of  which  we  are  speaking  it  is  this  urgent 

reply,  printed  by  Laing  (Knox,  lVor/:s,  vi.  94  ei  seq.),  occurs  the 
following  sentence  :  "  For,  although  those  who  give  none  of  their 
labour  to  the  church  have  no  right  to  claim  their  maintenance,  yet,  since 
they  have  ensnared  themselves  through  ignorance  and  error,  and  have 
spent  part  of  their  life  in  idleness,  it  were  hard  that  they  should  be 
totally  deprived  of  it  "  (p.  97). 

1    Works,  ii.  223. 

-   Cook,  Hisi.  of  tJie  Refortnaiiofi  2?t  Scotland,  ii.  331. 


142  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

appeal  to  the  nobility  that  is  the  main  concern  of  the 
authors.  We  may  have  doubts  in  assigning  certain 
portions  of  the  Book  to  their  respective  writers  ;  but  in 
the  following  passage  we  seem  to  have  the  unmistak- 
able accents  of  Knox  :  "  And  thairfore  provisioun  must 
be  maid  how  and  of  whome  suche  soumes  must  be 
lifted.  But  befoir  we  enter  this  held  we  must  crave  of 
your  Honouris  in  the  name  of  the  eternall  God  and  of 
his  Sone  Christ  Jesus,  that  ye  have  respect  to  your 
pure  brethren,  the  lauboraris  and  manuraris  of  the 
ground  ;  who  by  these  creuell  beastis  the  Papistis  have 
bene  so  oppressit  that  thair  life  to  thame  have  \sic\  bene 
dolourus  and  bitter.  Yf  ye  will  have  God  author  and 
approver  of  youre  reformatioun,  ye  must  nott  follow 
thair  futesteppis  ;  but  ye  must  have  compassioun  upoun 
your  brethren,  appointing  thame  to  pay  so  reasonabill 
teyndis  that  thei  may  feill  sum  benefit  of  Christ  Jesus, 
now  precheit  unto  thame.  With  the  greaf  of  our 
heartis  we  heare  that  sum  Gentilmen  are  now  als 
creuell  over  thair  tennentis  as  ever  war  the  Papistis,  re- 
quiring of  thame  whatsoever  before  thay  payit  to  the 
Churche ;  so  that  the  Papisticale  tirranye  shall  onlie 
be  changeit  in  the  tirranye  of  the  lord  or  of  the  laird. 
We  dar  not  flatter  your  Honouris,  neathir  yit  is  it 
proffitabill  for  you  that  so  we  do  :  if  you  permit  suche 
creualtie  to  be  used,  neather  shall  ye,  who  by  your 
authoritie  aucht  to  ganestand  suche  oppressioun,  neather 
thei  that  use  the  same,  escheip  Goddis  hevy  and  feir- 
full  judgementis."  ^ 

The  ruin  of  the  ancient  Church  in  Scotland,  as  else- 
where, had  been  largely  due  to  a  slackening  of  peni- 
tential discipline,  which  gradually  sapped  alike  the  faith 
and  the  morals  of  its  adherents.      In  the  words  of  the 

1     Works,  ii.    22  1,   222. 


THE  BOOK  OF  DISCIPLINE  143 

Book  of  Discipline,  it  had  come  to  pass  that  "  neather 
was  virtu  richtlie  praysit,  neathir  vice  seveirlie 
punisched."^  If  the  new  Church  was  to  be  worthy  of 
its  calling,  therefore,  primitive  piety  not  less  than 
primitive  doctrine  must  be  maintained  in  its  midst ; 
and  it  is  with  this  weighty  matter  that  the  authors  deal 
in  their  seventh  head.  What  law  is  to  the  common- 
wealth, they  say,  discipline  is  to  the  Church  :  with  the 
right  of  discipline  is  bound  up  the  very  existence  of  the 
Church  as  a  corporate  body.  For  this  right  Calvin  had 
struggled  in  Geneva,  and  only  after  many  years  had 
attained  his  end.  In  that  town,  as  we  have  seen,  Knox 
had  found  the  ideal  of  what  a  religious  society  on  earth 
should  be  ;  and  Geneva  was  doubtless  the  model  which 
he  would  have  wished  Scotland  to  follow.  In  the 
seventh  head  of  the  Book  of  Discipline,  however,  it  was 
a  Lasco  rather  than  Calvin  whom  its  authors  had 
before  them.  Even  during  its  brief  existence,  the 
Church  of  the  Foreis^ners  in  London  had  been  taught 
the  necessity  of  stringent  discipline,  and  in  a  Lasco's 
book  the  conditions  of  Church  communion  and  the 
methods  of  dealing  with  recalcitrant  members  are 
treated  with  special  care  and  minuteness.^ 

It  is  this  section  of  the  Book  of  Discipline  beyond 
every  other  that  expresses  the  essential  character  and 
tendency  of  the  Reformed  Church  of  Scotland.  It 
contains  nothing,  indeed,  which  had  not  been  explicitly 
taught  by  the  Church  of  Rome.  The  scheme  of  life  it 
implies,  the  conditions  of  church  membership  it  dictates, 
were  identical  with  what  the  Church  of  Rome  at  least 
nominally  approved.  The  offences  visited,  and  the 
methods  of  visiting  them,  were  no  inventions  of  the 
Scottish  Reformers.    In  fashioning  his  religious  republic 

1    Works,  ii.  227.  2  \  Lasco,  Opera,  ii.  170  et  seq. 


144  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

in  Geneva  Calvin  only  revived  laws  which  the  ancient 
Church  itself  had  prescribed  for  the  pious  going  of  the 
citizens.  In  their  views  of  the  end  and  scope  of  disci- 
pline the  Scottish  Reformers  were  thus  in  no  respect 
original/  Where  their  originality  lay  was  in  their 
unflinching  application  of  terms  which  the  Church  of 
Rome  had  adjusted  to  "the  average  sensual  man." 
Many  of  the  suggestions  of  Knox  and  his  colleagues 
never  took  practical  shape  ;  but  their  injunctions  on  the 
subject  of  discipline  determined  the  character  of  the 
Church  which  they  founded.  Within  that  Church  itself 
its  members  were  formed  after  the  type  involved  in  its 
inexorable  laws  of  life  and  conduct.  To  the  world  out- 
side, also,  it  presented  a  collective  character  not  less 
distinctly  marked.  The  conditions  of  its  communion 
constituted  it  an  ijuperium  in  imperio,  a  distinct  organ- 
ism within  the  larger  organism  in  the  State.  A  passage 
like  the  following  implied  the  whole  subsequent  struggle 
which,  for  above  a  century,  set  Church  against  State 
in  the  religious  development  of  Scotland.  Literally 
taken,  the  passage  could  only  mean  that  to  all  intents 
and  purposes,  excommunication  was  virtual  outlawry. 
"After  whiche  sentence,"  the  passage  runs,  "may  no 
persoun  (his  wife  and  familie  onlie  excepted)  have  ony 
kynde  of  conversatioun  with  him,  be  it  in  eiting  and 
drinking,  buying  or  selling,  yea,  in  saluting  or  talking 
with  him ;  except  that  it  be  at  the  commandiment  or 

1  They  thus  distinguish  between  the  respective  spheres  of  Church 
and  State  :  "  Blasphemye,  adulterie,  murthour,  perjurie,  and  uthir  crymes 
capitall,  worthie  of  death,  aucht  not  properhe  to  fall  under  censure  of  the 
Churche  ;  becaus  all  suche  oppin  trangressouris  of  Goddis  lawis  aucht 
to  be  tackin  away  be  the  civill  swearde.  But  drunkynnes,  excesse  (be  it 
in  apparell,  or  be  it  in  eating  or  drinking),  fornicatioun,  oppressioun  of  the 
poore  by  exactionis,  deceaving  of  thame  in  buying  or  selling  be  wrang 
met  or  measure,  wantoun  wordis  and  licentious  leving  tending  to  sklander, 
do  propirlie  appertene  to  the  Churche  of  God,  to  punnische  the  same  as 
Goddis  word  commandeth." — Works,  ii.  227. 


THE  BOOK  OF  DISCIPLINE  145 

licence  of  the  Ministerie  for  his  conversioun  ;  that  he  by 
suche  meanis  confoundit,  seing  him  self  abhorit  of  the 
faythfull  and  godlie,  may  have  occasioun  to  repent  and 
be  so  savit.  The  sentence  of  his  Excommunicatioun 
must  be  publischeit  universalie  throwhout  the  Realme, 
least  that  any  man  sould  pretend  ignorance."^ 

The  eighth  head  bears  evident  traces  of  hasty  com- 
position, and  is,  moreover,  logically  out  of  place  in  the 
general  plan  of  the  Book.  Its  subject  is  the  manner 
of  electing  elders  and  deacons,  and  the  function  that 
should  pertain  to  each.  Both  offices  Knox  had  seen 
in  full  working  in  Geneva;  but  to  the  elders  the  Scottish 
Reformers  assign  an  authority  and  importance  which 
is  another  proof  of  the  independent  character  of  their 
work.  Chosen  by  the  congregation,^  the  elders  were 
to  be  the  spiritual  censors  of  people  and  minister  alike. 
But  it  is  in  the  relation  of  the  elders  to  the  minister 
that  we  note  the  special  stamp  of  the  Scottish  Reforma- 
tion. Everywhere  in  the  Book  of  Discipline  we  see 
that  its  authors  are  inspired  with  a  pious  horror  of  the 
evils  they  had  seen  in  the  fallen  Church.  In  drawing 
up  this  section  they  had  before  them  the  scandals  that 
had  arisen  from  the  irresponsibility  of  the  old  clergy  ; 

1  IVorks,  ii.  230.  Compare  the  following  passage  from  the  Co7isul- 
iatio  of  Hermann  of  Cologne  (p.  cii.)  "  Et  si  Magistratus  civilis  concedat 
excommunicato  usum  politici  status,  et  consuetudinis  civium,  excom- 
municatio  Ecclesiae  civilem  communionem  impedire  non  debet ;  Licetque 
veris  et  obedientibus  Ecclesiae  membris  hujusmodi  hominis  uti  consuetu- 
dine  in  rebus  civilibus,  et  in  administratione  Rei  pub.  in  publicis  judiciis, 
in  emendo  et  vendendo,  et  similibus  negociis  civilis  societatis  et  necessi- 
tatis hujus  vitae.  In  aliis  autem  non  necessariis  rebus  vitanda  est  membris 
Christi  talium  consuetudo,  ne  se  peccatis  alienis  contaminent.  Imo  sic 
se  gerere  erga  hujusmodi  debent,  ut  et  ipsi  et  alii  intelligant  eos  graviter 
dolere  et  tristari,  propter  ipsorum  flagitia  et  scandala,  quae  Ecclesiae 
Dei  obiiciunt." 

-  In  Geneva  the  Conseil  Etroit  nominated  the  elders,  who  were 
then  approved  by  the  ministers. — Calvin,  Opera^  vol.  x.  part  i.  pp. 
22,  23. 

VOL.   II  10 


146  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

but  in  their  zeal  to  avoid  this  evil  they  went  to  an  op- 
posite extreme  which  could  only  have  led  to  disasters  of 
another  kind.  By  the  powers  they  proposed  to  confer 
on  elders,  they  gave  signal  proof  of  their  sincerity 
of  purpose  ;  yet,  exercised  to  the  full,  these  powers 
must  inevitably  have  crippled  the  ministry  of  the 
Church.  "Yea,"  they  write,  "the  Senlouris  aught  to 
take  heyde  to  the  life,  manneris,  deligence,  and  studye 
of  thair  Ministeris.  Yf  he  be  worthie  of  admonitloun, 
thei  must  admonlsche  him  ;  of  correctioun,  thei  must 
correct  him  :  And  yf  he  be  worthy  of  depositioun,  thay 
with  consent  of  the  Churche  and  Superintendent,  may 
depose  him,  so  that  his  cryme  so  deserve.  Yf  a 
Minister  be  licht  in  conversatioun,  by  his  Elderis  and 
Seniouris  he  aught  to  be  admonisched.  Yf  he  be 
negligent  in  studie,  or  one  that  vaketh  not  upoun  his 
charge  and  flocke,  or  one  that  proponeth  not  frutefull 
doctrine,  he  deservith  scharpear  admonitioun  and 
correctioun."  ^ 

The  ninth  and  last  head  deals  at  some  length  with 
the  "  polecie  of  the  churche" — policy  being  defined  as 
"  ane  exercise  of  the  Churche  in  suche  thingis  as  may 
bring  the  .  rude  and  ignorant  to  knawledge,  or  elHs 
inflambe  the  learned  to  greater  fervencie,  or  to  reteane 
the  Churche  in  gude  ordour."  ^  Consistently  with  this 
definition,  this  section  Is  mainly  occupied  with  a  plan 
of  religious  instruction,  which  should  meet  the  wants 
of  every  rank  of  the  people.  Better  fortune  attended 
this  plan  than  the  proposed  scheme  of  national  educa- 
tion. Through  the  means  suggested  under  this  head 
Scotland  became  the  nation  of  theologians  with  which 
the  world  is  familiar.  In  "grelt  Tounis  "  there  was  to 
be   a   sermon   or  "Commoun    Prayerls "   daily    "with 

1    Works,  ii-  -35-  -  Ibid.  ii.  237. 


THE  BOOK  OF  DISCIPLINE  147 

some  exercise  of  reiding  the  Scripturis  ;  "  and  in  each 
"notable  Toun  "  there  was  to  be  sermon  and  prayers 
on  one  day  of  the  week  besides  Sunday.  In  every 
church  there  was  to  be  a  Bible  "in  Inglesche,"  which 
was  to  be  read  systematically  to  the  congregation  from 
beginning  to  end.  Each  head  of  a  household  was  to 
be  responsible  for  the  religious  knowledge  both  of  his 
children  and  his  servants.  "And  gif  thay  stuburnlie 
continew,  and  suffer  thair  children  and  servandis  to 
continew  in  wilfull  ignorance,  the  discipline  of  the 
Churche  must  proceid  against  them  unto  excommunica- 
tioun  ;  and  then  must  the  mater  be  referred  to  the 
Civill  Magistrat."  ^ 

From  k  Lasco,  an  institution  was  borrowed  which 
was  singularly  fitted  to  keep  alive  theological  interests, 
and,  within  certain  limits,  to  foster  the  best  talent  in 
the  country.^  In  every  place,  where  men  of  fitting 
gifts  were  found,  there  was  to  be  a  weekly  meeting  for 
the  discussion  of  such  passages  in  Scripture  as  might 
tend  to  mutual  edification.  At  these  weekly  "  pro- 
phesyings,"  as  they  are  termed,  all  were  to  be  present  to 
whom  any  talent  had  been  committed  for  the  spiritual 
profit  of  their  fellows.  "  And  yf  any  be  found  dis- 
obedient," is  the  solemn  threat,  "and  not  willing  to 
communicat  the  giftis  and  spirituall  graces  of  God  with 
thair  brethren,  after  sufficient  admonitioun,  discipline 
must  procead  against  thame  ;  provided  that  the  Civile 
Magistrate  concur  with  the  judgement  and  electioun 
of  the  Churche.  For  no  man  may  be  permitted  to  leave 
[live]  as  best  pleasseth  him  within  the  Churche  of  God ; 
but  everie  man  must  be  constrayned  by  fraternall  ad- 
monitioun and  correctioun  to  bestow  his  laubouris  when 

1    Works,  ii.  241. 
2  A  Lasco,  Opera,  ii.  loi  et  seq. 


LIFE   OF  JOHN  KNOX 


of  the  Churche  thei  ar  required  to  the  edificatioun  of 

otheris."  ^ 

As  has  been  said,  the  system  of  national  education 

proposed  in  the  Book  of  DiscipHne  was  reaHsed  only 

in  the  most  imperfect  fashion.     On  the  other  hand, 

its  system  of  religious  instruction  was  carried  into  effect 

with  results  that  would  alone  stamp  the  first  Book  of 

Discipline  as  the  most  important  document  in  Scottish 

history.      Through    the   various    means   of  edification 

provided   for  him,   every   Scotsman  was  subjected   to 

a  moral   and    intellectual  discipline  such   as  no  other 

country  succeeded   in  giving  to  its  people.     To  this 

discipline,  far  more  than  to  the  parish  schools,  has  been 

due  that 

Stately  speech  ; 
Such  as  grave  Livers  do  in  Scotland  use, 
Religious  men,  who  give  to  God  and  man  their  dues.^ 

The  Book  of  Discipline  expresses  the  Ideal  which 
its  authors  conceived  of  a  society,  existing  on  earth, 
but  whose  main  concern  Is  heaven.  Yet  this  ultimate 
reference  to  another  sphere  of  being  never  affected 
their  practical  wisdom.  As  It  happened,  many  of  their 
best  suggestions  never  bore  fruit ;  but  their  proposals 
as  a  whole  cast  the  mould  In  which  the  Scottish 
character  and  intellect  were  formed  for  more  than  two 
centuries.  From  the  above  analysis  of  the  Book  it 
will  have  appeared  that  the  modern  phrase  "  Christian 
socialism  "  would  be  no  inapt  description  of  the  scheme 

1  Works,  ii.  245. 

2  Wordsworth,  Resolution  and  Independence.  Speaking  of  the 
Scottish  peasantry,  Scott,  who  knew  them  so  well,  has  the  following 
passage  in  his  Introduction  to  The  A7itiqiiary :  "The  antique  force  and 
simplicity  of  their  language,  often  tinctured  with  the  Oriental  eloquence 
of  Scripture,  in  the  mouths  of  those  of  an  elevated  understanding,  give 
pathos  to  their  grief  and  dignity  to  their  resentment." 


THE  BOOK  OF  DISCIPLINE  149 

it  embodies.  In  all  its  proposals  the  individual  is 
merged  in  the  society  with  a  completeness  that  would 
meet  the  approval  of  the  most  absolute  socialist  of  the 
present  day.  By  the  combined  authority  of  Church 
and  State  he  was  to  be  sent  to  school  and  university 
till  the  special  talent  was  discovered  by  which  he  could 
best  serve  the  community.  His  career  thus  marked 
out  for  him,  his  subsequent  conduct  and  opinions  must 
be  shaped  in  accordance  with  the  creed  and  discipline 
of  the  Church.  Those  who  fell  out  of  the  race  were  to 
be  forcibly  reminded  that  they  were  not  their  own 
masters.  The  unable  were  to  be  the  care  of  their 
respective  parishes,  and  the  able-bodied,  but  idle, 
should  be  compelled  to  put  their  hands  to  such  work 
as  was  provided  for  them.  Community  of  goods  is  not 
proposed,  but  for  this  there  was  an  excellent  reason. 
As  one  of  the  tenets  of  the  Anabaptists,  it  had  been 
discredited  in  the  deplorable  history  of  that  sect  in 
Germany  and  elsewhere.  Moreover,  if  the  ecclesias- 
tical system  of  the  Book  of  Discipline  had  been  fully 
realised,  such  regulation  of  property  would  hardly 
have  been  necessary.  In  the  parish  as  the  unit  of 
society  it  would  have  been  the  function  of  the  Church 
to  see  that  there  was  no  excessive  luxury  on  the  one 
hand  and  no  absolute  need  on  the  other.^  Ministers, 
elders,  and  deacons,  if  they  did  their  duty,  would  con- 
stitute an  authority  which  would  enforce  the  principle 
of  Christian  charity.  Alike  as  regards  property  and 
life,  therefore,  the  scheme  of  the  Scottish  Reformers 
was  practically  a  form  of  socialism  such  as  seems  implied 
in  the  very  essence  of  the  Christian  teaching. 

7;^  (the  "Order  of  Excommunication,"  issued  in  1569,  "  superfluitie 
orfou  '^nes  in  cheir  or  rayment "  are  expressly  specified  as  deserving 
of'ino,       >itioun." — Woi-ks,  vi.  453,  454. 


1 50  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

The  most  delicate  task  of  the  authors  of  the  Book 
of  Discipline  was  to  distinguish  the  respective  functions 
of  Church  and  State.  In  the  early  Middle  Age  these 
functions  had  been  so  confounded  that  a  clear  line  of 
separation  between  them  was  impossible.  In  the 
development  of  the  different  countries,  however,  the 
sphere  of  the  State  had  become  more  clearly  defined, 
with  the  result  that  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Church  was 
driven  within  ever- narrowing  limits.  With  the  ex- 
perience of  the  Middle  Age  behind  them,  the  Pro- 
testant Reformers  were  fully  aware  of  the  evil 
consequences  to  religion  of  any  antagonism  between 
the  Church  and  the  State.  Both  in  his  writings  and 
his  practice  Calvin  had  sought  to  mark  the  precise 
sphere  of  both. ^  In  the  Book  of  Discipline  its  authors 
had  distinctly  before  them  the  necessity  of  a  clear 
line  of  demarcation ;  but  we  now  see  that  they 
attempted  a  problem  which  the  growth  of  opinion 
alone  could  solve.  As  implied  in  their  scheme,  the 
functions  of  Church  and  State  overlapped  in  a  manner 
that  made  friction  inevitable.  The  State  was  to  give 
effect  to  all  their  proposals,  but  only  in  the  mode  and 
degree  which  they  dictated.  The  State  was  to  allocate 
the  superintendent,^  and  was  to  punish  all  such  persons 
as  the  Church  should  see  fit  to  surrender  to  its 
judgment.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Church  reserved 
a  freedom  of  action  with  regard  to  affairs  of  State 
which  might  easily  render  Government  impossible. 
Time  was  to  show  that  in  Protestantism  there  was 
a  principle  of  development  of  which  Knox  to  the  last 
had  never  a  suspicion.     Out  of  the  conflict  of  opinion, 

1  Instituiio  CJiristianac  Religionis,  caput  xx. 

2  Works,  ii.  208  ;  and  cf.  Booke  of  the  Universall  Kirk,  p.  13.     The 
State  on  some  occasions  even  appointed  the  Moderator  of  t^^e  General 

Assembly. — //-'/(/.  p.  17.  ; 


THE  BOOK  OF  DISCIPLINE  151 

provoked  by  the  schism  from  Rome,  grew  that  secular 
spirit,  which,  as  the  antithesis  of  mediaevalism,  is  in 
direct  hostiHty  to  any  pretence  of  the  Church  to  speak 
on  equal  terms  to  the  State.^ 

^  It  is  worth  noting  that  the  First  Book  of  Discipline  was  sub- 
sequently adopted  by  the  Puritan,  Cartwright,  as  the  manifesto  of  his 
party. — Prothero,  Select  Statutes  atid  other  Cojistitutional  Documents 
illustrative  of  the  reigns  of  Elizabeth  and  fames  I.  (1894),  pp.  Iv., 
247,  248. 


BOOK    V 

THE    SECOND    REVOLUTION— THE 
TRIUMPH    OF    KNOX 


1560- 1572 


CHAPTER    I 

KNOX    AND    THE    POLITICIANS 
1561-1565 

Mary  landed  at  Leith  on  the  20th  of  August  1561  ; 
and  with  the  moment  of  her  arrival  begins  a  new 
period  in  the  life  of  Knox  and  in  the  history  of 
Scotland.  It  was  not  long  before  Knox  saw  that  the 
Queen's  return  was  the  most  untoward  event  that  could 
have  happened  to  the  new  Church.  During  the  next 
four  years  wounded  self-love  and  pious  apprehensions 
kept  him  in  a  chronic  disquiet,  which  often  drew  from 
him  the  wish  that  the  weary  fight  were  over.  Within 
a  fortnight  after  Mary's  return  he  writes  as  follows  to 
his  old  friend  and  confidant  Mrs.  Locke :  "I  have 
finished  in  open  preaching  the  Gospell  of  Sanct  Johne, 
saving  onlie  one  chapter.  Oft  have  I  craved  the 
misereis  of  my  dayes  to  end  with  the  same  ;  for  now, 
sister,  I  seeke  for  rest."^ 

The  special  form  of  the  new  danger  was  doubly 
galling  to  one  who,  like  Knox,  was  incapable  of  even 
seeming  to  palter  with  his  heart's  deepest  convictions. 
We  have  seen  that  for  some  months  before  the  Treaty  of 
Edinburgh,  the  Lords  of  the  Congregation  had  allowed 
religion  to  drop  into  the  background,  and,  to  a  certain 
extent,  neglected  the  counsels  of  Knox.     The  necessity 

^    Works ^  vi.  130. 


1 56  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

of  winning  England  in  their  conflict  with  France  had 
driven  them  into  a  policy  which  had  at  least  resulted 
in  the  victory  of  July  1560.  Knox  had  viewed  this 
policy  with  deep  displeasure,  and  had  not  spared  the 
most  powerful  of  those  who  had  carried  it  through. 
He  was  now  to  see  a  line  of  conduct  followed  which 
in  his  opinion  could  only  call  down  the  judgment  of 
Heaven  on  their  country.  "  Who  wold  have  thought," 
he  bitterly  exclaims,  "  that  when  Joseph  reulled  Egypt 
that  his  brethren  should  have  travailled  for  vittallis, 
and  have  returned  with  empty  seckis  unto  thair 
families  ? "  ^ 

Mary  had  not  been  many  days  in  the  country  before 
the  policy  of  the  next  few  years  defined  itself  with 
perfect  clearness.  From  the  position  of  all  parties 
interested  in  the  future  of  Scotland,  this  policy  was 
of  necessity  a  temporary  compromise.  For  Spain, 
France,  and  England,  it  was  still  of  high  moment 
what  paths  Scotland  should  follow  under  the  immediate 
government  of  Mary.  As  an  exemplary  Catholic,  it 
was  the  devout  desire  of  Philip  H.  that  the  country 
should  be  restored  to  the  true  fold.  Unfortunately, 
this  happy  consummation  could  be  effected  only  through 
France  ;  and  France  in  full  control  of  Scotland  would 
have  implied  the  conquest  of  England  and  the  ascend- 
ency of  the  French  monarchy  in  the  counsels  of  Europe. 
To  help  France  in  such  an  enterprise  was  a  reach  of 
devotion  beyond  even  the  faith  of  Philip,  and  he  was 
content  to  stand  by  and  fashion  his  diplomacy  according 
to  the  course  of  events.  Of  herself  France  at  this 
moment  was  powerless  to  interfere  decisively  in  the 
affairs  of  any  foreign  country.  By  the  death  of 
Francis  H.  the  Guises  had  lost  their  preponderating 

1    Works^  ii.  310. 


KNOX  AND   THE  POLITICIANS  157 

influence ;  and  Catharine  de'  Medici,  who  governed 
the  new  king,  thought  only  of  preventing  their  return 
to  power.  The  Huguenots,  moreover,  had  now  become 
a  force  which  threatened  to  dismember  France  as  a 
nation.  Thus  France  also  could  confine  herself  only 
to  diplomacy  in  her  relations  with  Scotland.  By  the 
Treaty  of  Edinburgh  England  had  obtained  all  that  she 
had  sought  in  meddling  with  Scottish  affairs.  That 
\  Treaty,  indeed,  had  never  received  the  formal  sanction 
•of  Mary;  but  by  skilful  conduct  this  sanction  might  be 
gained  without  recourse  to  the  strong  hand.  As  things 
now  stood,  Elizabeth  was  not  in  a  position  to  browbeat 
the  Scottish  Queen.  At  home  the  divided  faith  of  her 
subjects  was  a  chronic  source  of  weakness;  and  her 
enemies  abroad  were  on  the  watch  for  every  false  step 
which  might  present  an  opening  for  her  ruin.  During 
the  first  years  of  Mary's  reign,  therefore,  the  attitude  of 
the  three  great  powers  to  Scotland  was  simply  a 
watchful  jealousy,  lest  one  should  overreach  the  other 
in  attaching  her  to  its  own  special  interests. 

Within  her  own  borders  the  Government  of  Scot- 
land adjusted  itself  in  a  similar  spirit  of  jealous  com- 
promise. In  the  circumstances  in  which  she  found 
herself  Mary  had  hardly  a  choice  of  alternatives  as 
to  her  immediate  policy.  As  we  have  seen,  she  could 
count  on  no  effective  support  from  France,  and,  at 
the  date  of  her  arrival,  the  Protestant  party,  through 
the  fervour  of  its  convictions  and  the  ability  of  its 
leaders,  was  the  prevailing  power  in  the  country. 
From  the  first,  therefore,  Maitland  and  the  Lord 
James  were  her  chief  counsellors,  and  to  them  is 
due  the  policy  of  the  country  during  the  early  years 
of  her  reign.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Protestant 
leaders    were    in    as    precarious   a    position    as    Mary 


158  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

herself.  The  course  of  events  since  the  meeting  of 
the  Estates  in  August  1560  had  shown  that  the 
triumph  of  Protestantism  was  by  no  means  assured. 
The  majority  of  the  nobles  and  the  majority  of  the 
people  were  still  Catholic.  But  it  was  to  the  party 
of  the  old  Church  that  Mary  by  all  her  instincts  was 
naturally  drawn,  and  her  very  presence  served  to 
consolidate  its  strength  and  to  define  its  aims.  By 
the  consenting  testimony  of  the  time,  the  return  of 
their  Queen,  with  all  the  glamour  of  youth,  beauty, 
and  an  interesting  personal  history,  went  to  the  heart 
of  the  Scottish  people.  Skilfully  used,  the  charm  of 
her  youth,  her  sex,  her  grace  and  accomplishments, 
should  eventually  have  assured  her  the  general  support 
of  the  country.  Fortunately  for  the  future  of  Pro- 
testantism, Mary  possessed  little  of  the  steady  prudence 
and  personal  dignity  of  her  mother.^  Yet,  such  as  she 
was,  her  personal  qualities  materially  increased  the 
difficulties  of  the  Protestant  leaders.  Devoid  of  the 
higher  qualities  of  mind  and  character,  she  was  clever, 
self-willed,  and  ambitious.  With  such  a  character 
and  schooled  by  her  already  varied  experience,  Mary, 
in  spite  of  her  youth,  was  no  passive  instrument  in 
the  hands  of  her  advisers.  Through  the  weakness  of 
their  respective  positions,  therefore,  Mary  on  the  one 
hand  and  the  Protestant  Lords  on  the  other,  were 
driven  to  mutual  concessions,  which  in  their  hearts 
they  were  equally  bound  to  disapprove. 

Mary's  desire  would  have  been  to  bring  back  the 
old  religion,  and  with  the  aid  of  France  to  place 
herself  on  the  throne  of  England ;  but,  as  things  now 

^  By  her  lack  of  these  qualities  as  well  as  by  her  adventures  with 
the  other  sex,  Mary  reminds  us  of  her  grandmother,  Margaret  Tudor, 
the  sister  of  Henry  VIII. 


KNOX  AND  THE  POLITICIANS  159 

went,  such  a  plan  could  be  only  a  dream  of  the  future. 
Left  to  themselves,  Maitland  and  the  Lord  James 
would  have  maintained  the  late  religious  settlement 
at  once  out  of  policy  and  honest  conviction.  In  the 
interest  of  both  countries  they  desired  their  speedy 
union.  As  England  had  definitively  broken  with 
Rome,  it  was  in  the  nature  of  things  that  Scotland 
should  show  the  same  front.  Thus,  what  Mary  desired 
mainly  for  personal  reasons,  Maitland  and  the  Lord 
James  desired  for  the  well-being  of  the  two  countries  ; 
and  it  was  this  common  object  that  supplied  the  basis 
of  mutual  understanding  and  a  common  policy.  Mary 
gave  herself  to  the  Protestant  leaders  on  the  condition 
that  they  secured  to  her  the  English  throne ;  they,  on 
their  part,  made  compromises  in  religion  and  politics, 
which,  during  the  next  four  years,  it  was  the  burden 
of  Knox  to  denounce  as  an  ill-omened  compact  between 
God  and  Antichrist.  Even  in  the  point  of  worldly 
wisdom,  events  were  to  prove  that  Knox  had  seen 
deeper  into  the  possibilities  of  things  than  the  poli- 
ticians themselves. 

Within  a  week  after  Mary's  return  Knox  found 
himself  in  sharp  opposition  to  those  in  whom  he  had 
hitherto  placed  his  chief  hope  for  the  future.  On 
Sunday  the  24th  of  August  mass  was  celebrated  in 
Holyrood  Chapel  with  the  consent  of  the  Lord  James, 
"the  man  whom  all  the  godlye  did  most  reverence."^ 
The  Protestant  politicians  knew  as  well  as  Knox  that, 
as  men  then  thought  and  felt,  the  two  religions  could 
not  coexist  without  social  convulsion.  Conscious  of 
their  own  weakness,  however,  and  fearful  of  another 
civil  war,  they  thought  by  this  temporary  compromise 
at  once  most  surely  and  most  speedily  to  attain  their 

1    IVorks^  ii.  271. 


i6o  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

end.  On  the  following  day  the  Council,  though 
mainly  composed  of  Protestants,  gave  further  proof 
of  Its  weakness.  They  passed  an  act  to  the  effect  that 
in  religion  things  were  to  remain  as  the  Queen  had 
found  them.^ 

For  Knox  the  whole  labour  of  the  last  two  years 
had  for  its  end  the  destruction  of  the  old  religion  and 
the  setting  up  of  the  new.  In  1560  the  victory  had 
seemed  to  be  in  their  hands,  and  the  Parliament  of 
that  year  had  vigorously  entered  on  the  right  way. 
What  Knox  would  now  have  wished  was  the  com- 
pletion, with  or  without  the  consent  of  the  Queen,  of 
the  work  which  had  been  so  well  begun.  Instead  of 
this  he  saw  the  leaders  of  his  party  enter  on  a  course 
which  he  felt  sure  must  lead  to  issues  ruinous  to  the 
cause  they  really  had  at  heart.  As  he  and  everybody 
must  have  known,  the  Court  religion  must  Inevitably 
prejudice  the  Interests  of  the  new  faith,  and  precisely 
In  quarters  which  It  was  most  Important  to  win  over. 
And  in  point  of  fact,  when  the  failure  of  the  schemes 
of  the  politicians  eventually  produced  a  crisis,  it  was 
found  that,  year  by  year,  the  example  of  the  Court 
had  told  heavily  on  the  numbers  and  zeal  of  the 
Protestants. 

Always  girt  for  battle,  Knox  at  once  joined  issue 
with  his  politic  brethren.  The  very  day  the  Act 
of  Council  was  proclaimed,  the  Earl  of  Arran  pro- 
duced a  protest  which  could  have  come  only  from 
the  hand  of  Knox  himself"  But  It  was  on  the  follow- 
ing Sunday  that  Knox  found  his  real  opportunity. 
From  his  pulpit  in  the  Church  of  St.  Giles  he  then 
spoke  of  the  doings  of  the  preceding  week.      He  has 

1   Knox  has  preserved  this  Act  for  us. —  Works,  ii.  272  et  seq. 
-  Ibid.  ii.  273-275. 


KNOX'S   PULPIT 


KNOX  AND  THE  POLITICIANS  i6i 

himself  recorded  the  purport  of  his  discourse  ;  but  one 
sentence  embodies  its  whole  aim  and  scope.  One 
mass,  he  said,  "was  more  fearful  to  him  then  gif  ten 
thousand  armed  ene'myes  war  landed  in  any  pairte 
of  the  Realme  of  purpose  to  suppress  the  hoill 
religioun."  ^ 

The  Protestant  Lords  would,  doubtless,  be  among 
Knox's  hearers ;  and  they  must  have  been  convinced 
that,  if  their  present  policy  was  to  have  a  fair  chance 
of  success,  he  must  either  be  silenced  or  gained  over. 
Knox,  it  is  to  be  remembered,  was  no  mere  pulpit 
declaimer,  who  provided  entertainment  for  a  few  hours 
on  preaching  days.  Both  the  Queen  and  her  new 
counsellors  were  fully  aware  that  his  opposition  was 
a  serious  force  to  be  reckoned  with  in  any  scheme 
affecting  the  future  of  the  country.  In  Edinburgh 
the  body  of  substantial  citizens  were  at  his  back  ;  and 
in  the  country  at  large  he  had  the  confidence  of  the 
barons  and  gentry  through  whose  influence  the  late 
revolution  had  been  mainly  carried  through.  A  few 
days  before  Knox  delivered  the  above  sermon,  Ran- 
dolph, whose  sympathies  at  this  time  were  all  with 
the  Lord  James  and  Lethington,  could  write  that 
Knox  "  ruleth  the  roste,  and  of  hym  all  men  stande 
in  feare."  ^ 

To  win  the  refractory  preacher  a  remarkable  step 
was  taken.  Apparently  with  the  consent,  and  probably 
at  the  suggestion,  of  her  advisers,^  Mary  summoned 

1  Works,  ii.  276.  It  was  probably  after  listening  to  this  sermon  that 
Randolph  wrote  to  Cecil  (7th  September  1561)  :  "Where  your  Honour 
exorteth  us  to  stoutnes,  I  assure  you  the  voyce  of  one  man  [Knox]  is 
^ble  in  one  hour  to  putt  more  lyf  in  us  than  fyve  hundreth  trumpettes 
continually  blustering  in  our  eares." 

-  Ibid.  vi.  129. 

3  To  one  familiar  with  Knox's  style  this  seems  implied  in  his  own 
words.— Ibid.  ii.  277. 

VOL.   II  II 


1 62  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

Knox  to  a  private  interview  in  Holyrood.  It  was 
certainly  an  emphatic  tribute  to  Knox's  predominance 
that  Mary  should  ever  have  consented  to  admit  him 
to  her  presence.  Before  her  return  she  had  already 
recognised  Knox  as  her  natural  enemy.  "  I  under- 
stand," wrote  Throgmorton  to  Elizabeth,  "that  the 
Queen  of  Scotland  is  thoroughly  persuaded  that  the 
most  dangerous  man  in  all  her  realm  of  Scotland,  both 
to  her  intent  there,  and  the  dissolving  of  the  league 
between  your  maj  :  and  that  realm,  is  Knokes."^  The 
few  days  she  had  been  in  Scotland  must  have  con- 
vinced Mary  that  she  had  not  exaggerated  either 
Knox's  hostility  or  his  dangerous  influence.  The 
encounter  between  these  two  famous  personages  has 
a  dramatic  aspect  which  is  apt  to  obscure  its  deeper 
historical  interest.  In  Mary  and  Knox  we  have  the 
perfect  incarnation  of  two  types  that  have  divided 
the  world  since  Christianity  displaced  the  Pagan 
religions.  In  Knox  we  have  the  representative,  in  its 
extremest  form,  of  the  theological  view  of  life  which 
subordinates   this   world   to    the   next,    and   insists  on 

1  The  rest  of  this  letter,  which  is  printed  by  Tytler  {Proofs  and 
Illustrations^  vi.  467)  deserves  to  be  given.  "  And  therefore  is  fully 
determined  to  use  all  the  means  she  can  devise  to  banish  him  thence, 
or  else  to  assure  them  that  she  will  never  dwell  in  that  country  so 
long  as  he  is  there  ;  and  to  make  him  the  more  odious  to  your  maj  : 
and  that  at  your  hands  he  receive  neither  courage  nor  comfort,  she 
mindeth  to  send  very  shortly  to  your  maj  :  (if  she  have  not  already 
done  it)  to  lay  before  you  the  book  that  he  hath  written  against  the 
government  of  women  ;  (which  your  maj  :  hath  seen  already),  thinking 
thereby  to  animate  your  maj  :  against  him  ;  but  whatsoever  the  said 
queen  shall  insinuate  your  maj  :  of  him,  I  take  him  to  be  as  much  for 
your  maj  :  purpose, — and  that  he  hath  done,  and  doth  daily,  as  good 
service  for  the  advancement  of  your  maj  :  desire  in  that  country,  and  to 
establish  a  mutual  benevolence  and  common  quiet  between  the  two 
realms,  as  any  man  of  that  nation  :  his  doings  wherein,  together  with 
his  zeal  well  known,  have  sufficiently  recompensed  his  faults  in  writing 
that  book  ;  and  therefore  [he]  is  not  to  be  driven  out  of  that  realm." — 
Throgmorton  to  Elizabeth,  13th  July  1561. 


KNOX  AND   THE  POLITICIANS  163 

"the  one  thing  needful."  Of  "the  child  of  nature," 
at  home  in  the  existing:  order  of  thinos  and  makinof 
the  most  of  what  life  has  to  offer,  no  more  charming 
example  is  to  be  found  than  Mary,  At  the  last,  like 
so  many  of  the  type  to  which  she  belonged,  she  was 
driven  by  stress  of  fate  to  bow  to  the  force  that  lies 
in  the  Christian  teaching  ;  but  at  the  period  of  which 
we  are  speaking  she  was  as  far  from  St.  Teresa  as  any 
woman  of  Pagan  antiquity. 

The  issue  of  the  encounter  could  not  be  doubtful. 
Knox,  In  his  panoply  of  an  iron  creed,  was  invulner- 
able to  all  the  spells  of  rank  and  educated  grace,  to 
which  the  morosest  man  of  the  people  has  so  often 
succumbed.  Yet,  doubtless,  both  looked  forward  with 
some  confidence  to  the  interview.  In  all  her  previous 
experience  Mary  had  probably  never  met  the  man  on 
whom  her  charms  had  not  told.  On  his  part,  Knox, 
as  we  have  seen,  had  some  experience  of  feminine 
nature,  and  had  not  been  unsuccessful  in  bringing 
women  to  his  feet. 

The  interview  took  place  on  the  26th  of  August — 
the  Lord  James  being  the  only  other  person  present.^ 
Mary's  tone  from  the  first  was  the  reverse  of  concilia- 
tory. On  the  ground  of  various  parts  of  his  past 
conduct,  she  taxed  him  with  being  a  disloyal  subject. 
He  had  been  a  leader  in  the  late  rebellion  against  her 
mother ;  in  his  book  on  the   Monstrous  Regiment  of 

1  Two  gentlewomen,  Knox  tells  us,  "  stood  in  the  other  end  of  the 
house"  {Works,  ii.  277).  We  have  only  Knox's  reports  of  his  different 
interviews  with  Mary  ;  but  we  have  no  reason  to  question  their  essential 
truth.  The  best  evidence  for  their  accuracy  is  that  Mary,  as  reported, 
fully  holds  her  own  with  her  formidable  adversary.  Further,  it  is  more 
than  probable  that  the  conversation  was  carried  on  in  the  Scottish 
language.  Nicolas  White,  writing  to  Cecil  in  1578,  speaks  of  Mary's 
"  pretty  Scottish  speech."  Moreover,  in  certain  passages,  Knox  appears 
to  give  the  very  words  used  by  Mary. 


1 64  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

Women  he  had  taught  treason  against  her  own 
authority  ;  in  England  he  had  been  a  notorious  dis- 
turber of  the  peace;  and,  lastly,  it  was  believed  that  he 
was  in  compact  with  the  powers  of  darkness.  The 
conversation  lay  mainly  with  Knox,  who  addressed 
himself  to  rebutting  the  above  charges.  But  the  most 
memorable  part  of  his  discourse  is  that  where  he 
denies  the  right  of  the  prince  to  impose  his  religion  on 
the  people.  This  doctrine  could  hardly  have  been 
new  to  Mary,  as  it  was  in  truth  the  fundamental 
political  question  of  the  day.  Never  before,  however, 
could  she  have  met  face  to  face  so  hardy  a  champion 
of  what  to  her  was  flat  rebellion,  nor  heard  the  doctrine 
defended  in  such  uncompromising  fashion.  After 
citing  Scriptural  examples  with  his  usual  fluency,  and 
in  the  utterly  unhistorical  manner  of  the  age,  he  con- 
cludes : 

"And  so,  Madam,  ye  may  perceave  that  subjectis 
ar  not  bound  to  the  Religioun  of  thair  Princes,  albeit 
thei  ar  commanded  to  geve  thame  obedience." 

"  Yea,"  quod  sche,  "  but  none  of  thai  men  raised 
the  sweard  ao^ainst  thair  Princes." 

"Yit,  Madam,"  quod  he,  "ye  cane  not  deny  but 
that  they  resisted  ;  for  these  that  obey  nott  the  com- 
mandiments  that  ar  o^evin  in  some  sort  resist." 

o 

"But  yit,"  said  sche,  "thei  resisted  not  by  the 
sweard  ?  " 

"God,"  said  he,  "Madam,  had  not  gevin  unto 
thame  the  power  and  the  meanes." 

"  Think  ye,"  quod  sche,  "  that  subjectis  having 
power  may  resist  thair  Princes  ?  " 

"  Yf  thair  Princes  exceed  thair  boundis,"  quod  he, 
"  Madam,  and  do  against  that  whairfor  they  should  be 
obeyed,  it  is  no  doubt  but  they  may  be  resisted,  evin  by 


KNOX  AND   THE  POLITICIANS  165 

power.  For  thair  is  neather  greattar  honour  nor  greattar 
obedience  to  be  gevin  to  kings  or  princes  then  God 
hes  commanded  to  be  gevin  unto  father  and  mother : 
But  so  it  is,  Madam,  that  the  father  may  be  stricken 
with  a  phrensye,  in  the  which  he  wold  slay  his  awin 
childrene.  Now,  Madame,  yf  the  children  aryese,  joyne 
them  selfis  togetther,  apprehend  the  father,  tack  the 
sweard  or  other  weaponis  frome  him,  and  finallie 
bind  his  handis,  and  keape  him  in  preasone,  till  that 
his  phrenesy  be  over  past ;  think  ye,  Madam,  that  the 
children  do  any  wrang  ?  Or,  think  ye,  Madam,  that 
God  wilbe  offended  with  thame  that  have  stayed  thair 
father  to  committ  wickedness  ?  It  is  even  so,"  said 
he,  "  Madam,  with  Princes  that  wold  murther  the 
children  of  God  that  ar  subject  unto  thame,  Thair 
blynd  zeall  is  no  thing  but  a  verray  mad  phrenesie  ; 
and,  thairfor,  to  tack  the  sweard  frome  thame,  to  bynd 
their  handis,  and  to  cast  thame  selfis  in  preasone  till 
that  thei  be  brought  to  a  more  sober  mynd,  is  no  dis- 
obedience against  princes,  but  just  obedience,  becaus 
that  it  aggreith  with  the  will  of  God  !  "  ^ 

After  this  outburst  Knox  tells  us  that  "  the  Ouene 
stood  as  it  war  amased  more  then  the  quarter  of  ane 
hour."  By  this  point  the  Lord  James  must  have  seen 
that  the  interview  was  not  likely  to  have  the  end 
desired.  But  the  temper  of  the  two  disputants  was 
now  fairly  up,  and  every  word  emphasised  their  essen- 
tial antagonism.  Recovering  herself,  Mary  at  length 
retorted  : 

"  Weall  then  I  perceave  that  my  subjectis  shall 
obey  you,  and  not  me." 

"God  forbid,"  was  the  reply,  "that  ever  I  tack 
upoun   me   to   command   any   to  obey  me,  or  yitt   to 

1   IVorA's,  ii.  281,  282. 


1 66  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

set  '^subjectis  at  libertie  to  do  what  pleaseth  thame. 
Bot  my  travell  is  that  boyth  princes  and  subjectis 
obey  God.  And  think  not,"  said  he,  "  Madam,  that 
wrong  is  done  unto  you,  when  ye  ar  willed  to  be 
subject  unto  God  :  for  it  is  he  that  subjects  people 
under  princes  and  causses  obedience  to  be  gevin  unto 
thame  ;  yea,  God  craves  of  Kingis  that  thei  be  as  it 
war  foster-fatheris  to  his  Churche,  and  commandsjo  be 
nurrisis  to  his  people.  And  this  subjectioun,  Madam, 
unto  God,  and  unto  his  trubled  Churche,  is  the  greatest 
dignitie  that  fleshe  can  get  upoun  the  face  of  the  earth, 
for  it  shall  cary  thame  to  everlasting  glorie." 

Mary's  retort  was  as  vehement  and  decided  as  any 
utterance  of  Knox's  own. 

"Yea,  but  ye  are  not  the  kirk  that  I  will  nureiss. 
I  will  defend  the  Kirk  of  Rome,  for  I  think  it  is  the 
true  Kirk  of  God."  ^ 

Instead  of  smoothing  the  way  of  the  politicians,  this 
interview  made  Knox  more  than  ever  the  determined 
opponent  of  their  present  policy.  The  impression 
Knox  had  received  from  Mary  had  only  deepened  his 
distrust  of  her  character  and  intentions.  "  Yf  thair  be 
not  in  hir,"  was  his  report,  "a  proud  mynd,  a  crafty 
witt,  and  ane  indurat  hearte  against  God  and  his 
treuth,  my  judgment  faileth  me."^  From  his  own 
account  of  Mary's  words  and  bearing,  her  "  craft " 
is  certainly  not  very  apparent.  Cleverness  she  un- 
doubtedly showed  ;  but  as  the  object  of  the  meeting 
was  specially  to  conciliate  Knox,  what  is  specially  note- 
worthy is  rather  her  lack  of  prudence  and  self-control. 
It  was  enough,  however,  that  in  her  quick  intelligence, 

1    Works,  ii.  283. 

^  Ibid.  p.  286.     In  a  letter  to  Cecil  he  also  says  :   "  In  communication 
with  her,  I  espyed  such  craft  as  I  have  not  found  in  such  aige." — vi.  132. 


KNOX  AND   THE  POLITICIANS  167 

in  her  passionate  temper,  and  her  hostility  to  all  that 
was  dearest  to  himself,  Knox  saw  an  ominous  menace 
to  the  cause  of  which  he  was  now  almost  the  solitary 
champion.^ 

The  backsliding  of  the  Protestant  Lords,  especially 
of  the  Lord  James,  now  preoccupied  all  Knox's 
thoughts.  "  My  eyes,"  he  wrote  to  Mrs.  Locke  on  the 
2nd  of  October,  "  have  seene  manie  things  and  yitt  I 
feare  one  more  terrible  than  all  others."^  A  few  days 
later  an  incident  confirmed  his  worst  fears.  In  ac- 
cordance with  ancient  custom  the  magistrates  of  Edin- 
burgh commanded  the  statutes  of  the  town  to  be 
publicly  proclaimed  on  the  2  ist  of  September.^  Among 
the  statutes  was  one  ordering  all  malefactors,  with 
whom  "papists"  were  now  classed,  to  quit  the  town. 
A  peremptory  message  from  the  Queen  was  the  con- 
sequence, consigning  the  magistrates  to  the  Tolbooth, 
and  enjoining  the  immediate  election  of  a  new  muni- 
cipal body.  Of  herself,  Knox  felt  that  Mary  would 
hardly  have  ventured  on  such  a  step,  and  he  formed 
his  own  conclusions  as  to  who  were  at  her  back.  "  Ye 
know  my  Lord  James  and  Ledington,"  he  wrote  to 
Cecil,  "  whome  yf  God  do  not  otherwiese  conduct,  thei 
ar  liek  to  lose  that  which,  not  without  travail,  hath 
heirtofore  bien  conquest :  Att  this  verrey  instant  ar  the 
Provost  of  Edinburgh  and  Balleis  thairof  command  to 
ward  in  there  Tolboght  be  reason  of  thare  Proclama- 
tion against  papists  and  hoormongers."^ 

^  Randolph  thus  refers  to  Knox's  first  interview  with  Mary.  "  He 
knocked  so  hastelye  upon  her  harte  that  he  made  her  weep  as  well  you 
knowe  ther  be  of  that  sexe  that  wyll  do  that  as  well  for  anger  as  for  greef." 
Randolph  to  Cecil,  7th  September  1561. — Wright,  Queen  Elizabeth^ 
i.  72.  2    lYorks,  vi.   130. 

^  Ibid.  ii.  289.  Keith  accuses  Knox  of  inaccuracy  in  asserting  that 
there  was  such  a  custom  ;  but  the  Council  Records  prove  that  the  custom 
did  exist.  ^    JVoris,  vi.  132.      Knox  to  Cecil,  7th  October  1561. 


1 68  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

On  the  ist  of  November  another  incident  widened 
the  breach  between  Knox  and  his  former  friends.  The 
festival  of  All  Saints,  celebrated  "with  all  myschievous 
solemnitie,"  once  more  raised  the  question  of  the 
Queen's  right  to  set  aside  the  existing  law  against  the 
mass.  At  the  house  of  the  Clerk  Register,  James 
Makgill,  the  point  was  formally  discussed  between  the 
ministers  and  the  politicians.  The  Lord  James,  the 
Earl  of  Morton,  the  Earl  Marischal,  Lethington,  and 
other  leading  Protestants  maintained  that  the  Queen 
possessed  an  exceptional  privilege,  Knox  and  the  chief 
ministers  holding  the  contrary.  The  abstract  question 
it  was  agreed  to  refer  to  Calvin  ;  but  in  effect  the  Lords 
carried  their  point,  Knox  and  his  friends  protesting 
that  "  her  [Mary's]  libertie  should  be  thair  thraldome 
or  it  was  long."  ^ 

Every  day  now  intensified  Knox's  opposition  to 
those  whom  he  called  the  "  reullaris  of  the  Courte."  A 
General  Assembly  of  the  Church  in  December  brought 
into  full  relief  the  misunderstanding  between  the  Pro- 
testant Lords  and  the  mass  of  those  who  were  of  the 
same  religion.  At  previous  meetings  of  the  Assembly, 
the  lords,  the  lesser  barons,  gentlemen,  and  ministers  had 
met  in  one  place  to  consider  the  business  of  the  Church. 
On  this  occasion  the  Lords  refused  to  take  part  in  the 
Assembly,  and  on  grounds  which  showed  the  strength  of 
Knox's  position.  To  a  deputation  sent  to  them  at  Holy- 
rood  Abbey  the  Lords  complained  "  that  the  Ministeris 
drew  the  gentilmen  into  secreat,  and  held  counsallis 
without  thair  knowledge." "  The  discussion  that 
followed  revealed  what  was  practically  a  schism  in  the 
Protestant  party.  Through  their  spokesman,  Lething- 
ton, the  Lords  even  denied  the  right  of  the  Church  to 

1    Works,  ii.  292.  ^  Ibid.  p.  295. 


KNOX  AND   THE  POLITICIANS  169 

hold  its  assemblies  without  the  consent  of  the  Queen. 
As  in  most  of  these  disputes  between  the  Lords  and  the 
ministers,  the  discussion  resolved  itself  into  a  duel  be- 
tween Lethins^ton  and  Knox.  In  view  of  the  existing- 
position  and  prospects  of  the  new  Church  Knox,  might 
well  be  staggered  by  the  above  contention.  '*  Yf  the 
libertie  of  the  Churche,"he  replied  with  manifest  truth, 
"  should  stand  upoun  the  Ouenis  allowance  or  dysallow- 
ance,  we  are  assured  not  onlie  to  lack  assemblies  but 
also  to  lack  the  publict  preaching  of  the  Evangell,"  ^ 
As  a  compromise  the  Lords  agreed  to  the  continuance 
of  the  General  Assemblies  on  condition  that  the  Queen's 
interests  should  be  represented  at  their  meetings." 

The  Book  of  Discipline  was  next  discussed,  and  on 
this  subject  the  ministers  received  less  satisfaction. 
When  they  suggested  that  the  Queen  should  be  asked 
to  ratify  the  Book,  the  Lords,  again  through  Lethington, 
refused  even  to  regard  the  matter  seriously.  "  How 
many  of  those,"  they  asked,  "that  had  subscrived  that 
Buke  wald  be  subject  unto  it?"  The  very  question 
proves  how  powerfully  the  mere  presence  of  Mary  in 
Scotland  had  affected  the  course  of  affairs.  A  few 
months  before  her  arrival  the  large  majority  of  those 
who  composed  her  Secret  Council  had  signed  the  Book 
of  Discipline  with  the  express  pledge  that  they  would 
"sett  the  samin  fordwarte  at  the  uttermost  of  oure 
poweris."  ^  How  was  it  that  a  few  months  had  sufficed 
to  change  their  minds  so  completely  ?  The  accepted 
explanation,  for  which  Knox  himself  is  mainly  respon- 
sible, is  that  if  the  Book  became  la.w,  the  wealth  of  the 
old  Church  would  simply  have  passed  into  the  hands 
of  the  new,  and  the  Protestant  Lords  would  not  have 
been  a  penny  the  better  for  all  their  late  trouble.      In 

^    Works,  ii.  296.  ^  /^/^_  p_  297.  3  /^/^_  p_  257. 


I70  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

the  case  of  every  revolution  we  must  give  due  place 
to  the  lower  motives  that  influence  even  the  noblest 
spirits  ;  but  the  above  explanation  is  a  totally  inade- 
quate account  of  the  political  and  religious  situation 
in  which  the  Protestant  Lords  now  found  themselves. 
As  we  have  seen,  the  return  of  Mary  was  a  serious 
menace  to  Protestantism  in  Scotland.  A  false  step  on 
the  part  of  the  Protestant  leaders  might  revive  the 
late  tumults,  in  which  the  country,  sick  of  civil  strife, 
would  almost  certainly  declare  for  the  Queen.  But  to 
ask  Mary,  who  knew  her  own  strength,  to  ratify  such 
a  document  as  the  Book  of  Discipline,  would  have 
been  to  drive  her  to  measures  which  would  have 
risked  what  the  new  religion  had  already  gained.  To 
maintain  their  hold  on  Mary,  to  keep  her  from  the 
counsels  of  the  Catholic  party,  the  Protestant  Lords 
were  forced  to  make  concessions,  and  to  hold  out 
promises,  which,  as  practical  politicians,  they  recognised 
as  a  necessity  of  their  position.  Knox  and  his  brother 
ministers,  therefore,  might  storm  as  they  pleased  ;  the 
Lords  were  resolved  that  the  Book  of  Discipline  should 
not  be  forced  on  Mary  to  the  ruin  of  all  their  plans. 

On  one  point,  however,  the  ministers,  supported 
by  the  barons  and  gentlemen,  were  determined  that 
something  should  be  done  ;  and  as  the  leader  of  this 
body  Knox  played  his  usual  prominent  part.  In  spite 
of  all  the  recent  legislation,  he  tells  us  that  "unto  that 
tyme  the  moste  parte  of  the  Ministeris  had  lyved 
upoun  the  benevolence  of  men."^  Whatever  they 
might  do  with  regard  to  the  Book  of  Discipline,  the 
Lords  were  now  told  that  the  ministers  must  be 
decently  provided  for.  So  threatening  was  the  Pro- 
testant   feeling    throughout    the    country,^  that    their 

1    Works,  ii.  298.  2  /^/^/_  pp_  300-303. 


KNOX  AND   THE  POLITICIANS  171 

demand  could  not  be  set  aside.  In  truth,  the  position 
of  the  Lords  grew  every  day  more  embarrassing.  The 
Protestant  congregations  insisted  that  their  ministers 
should  receive  permanent  stipends  from  the  property 
of  the  old  Church  to  which  they  were  the  legal  heirs. 
But  to  effect  this  end  classes  must  be  sacrificed  whom 
it  was  impolitic  to  offend  in  the  interests  of  Protest- 
antism itself.  The  bulk  of  the  Catholic  clergy  were 
still  in  possession  of  their  incomes  ;  ^  and  to  deprive 
them  at  this  particular  moment  was  beyond  the 
strength  of  the  Protestant  leaders.  Lay  lords,  both 
Catholic  and  Protestant,  had  become  masters  of  much 
of  the  ecclesiastical  property ;  and  them  it  would  have 
been  still  more  impolitic  to  unite  in  a  common  selfish 
interest.  An  ingenious  escape  from  their  difficulty 
occurred  to  Mary's  advisers.  In  the  name  of  the 
Queen  herself  a  certain  portion  of  the  rents  of  the 
Church  should  be  appropriated.^  According  to  Knox 
himself,  the  Crown  had  no  shadow  of  a  claim  on  the 
property  of  the  Church  ;  ^  but  the  old  clergy  would 
submit  more  readily  to  be  robbed  for  the  benefit 
of  a  Catholic  queen  than  for  the  increase  of  a 
heretical  sect.  As  a  good  Catholic  Mary  might  have 
shrunk  from  the  sacrilege  of  enriching  herself  at  the 
expense  of  the  Church  ;  but,  as  various  events  of  her 
career  sufficiently  prove,  religious  scruples  did  not 
weigh  much  with  her  when  they  stood  in  the  way  of 
her   own    passions   of  the    moment.^      At  this    time, 

1  This  is  implied  in  the  Acts  of  the  Privy  Council  ordaining  the 
clergy  to  produce  the  rentals  of  their  benefices.  These  Acts  are  given 
by  Knox,  ii.  299  et  seq.  ^  Ibid.  p.  307.  ^  Ibid.  p.  312. 

*  It  should  be  remembered  that  she  married  Bothwell,  a  professed 
Protestant,  according  to  Reformed  rites  ;  and,  what  is  probably  as  bad  in 
the  eyes  of  Catholic  orthodoxy,  cut  up  Church  vestments  to  make  a 
garment  for  her  lover,  and  a  counterpane  for  her  child. — Robertson, 
Stat.  Eccles.  Scotic.  vol.  i.  pp.  clxxii.,  clxxiii. 


172  LIFE   OF  JOHN  KNOX 

moreover,  she  was  in  as  needy  a  condition  as  the 
ministers  themselves.  She  had  brought  back  with 
her  the  luxurious  habits  of  the  French  Court,  and  she 
was  soon  involved  in  expenditure  which  all  her  sources 
of  income  were  inadequate  to  meet.^ 

With  the  consent  of  the  Queen,  therefore,  and 
under  the  shelter  of  her  name,  her  Council  imposed  a 
tax  of  one-third  on  all  the  ecclesiastical  property  in  the 
country.  Of  this  third  a  half  was  to  go  to  the  Queen, 
and  the  remainder  was  to  be  distributed  amono^  the 
ministers.  When  we  remember  the  high  hopes  of 
Knox  a  year  before,  we  need  not  wonder  that  this 
pitiful  concession  wounded  him  to  the  quick.  In  the 
Book  of  Discipline  it  was  calmly  taken  for  granted  that 
the  entire  possessions  of  the  old  Church  had  passed 
into  the  hands  of  the  new.  If  the  old  clergy  were 
provided  for,  it  would  be  purely  out  of  charity  on  the 
part  of  the  Reformed  Church,  and  from  no  deference 
to  their  own  legal  claims.  Now  all  this  was  reversed, 
and  it  was  the  ministers  who  were  to  be  fed  by  charity, 
and  "  the  priests  of  Baal  "  who  were  to  dispense  it.  In 
the  end,  as  will  be  seen,  this  cautious  policy  of  the 
Protestant  Lords  led  to  issues  which  it  was  their  main 
object  to  avert.  By  their  apparent  deference  to  the 
Queen's  wishes  they  now  gave  deep  offence  to  the 
great  body  of  their  fellow- Protestants,  on  whom,  if 
things  came  to  the  worst,  they  must  in  the  long  run 
depend.  Speaking  from  the  pulpit,  Knox  gave  utter- 
ance to  the  feeling  of  the  Protestants  in  general 
regarding  the  late  arrangement.  "Weill,  yf  the  end 
of  this  ordour,  pretended  to  be  tacken  for  sustentatioun 
of  the  Ministeris,  be  happy,  my  judgement  failleth  me  ; 
for  I   am  assured  that  the  Spirit  of  God  is  nott  the 

^   Her  dowry  as  widow  of  Francis  II.  was.  not  regularly  paid. 


KNOX  AND   THE  POLITICIANS  173 

auctor  of  it ;  for,  first,  I  see  Twa  partis  freely  gevin  to 
the  Devill,  and  the  Thrid  maun  be  devided  betwix 
God  and  the  Devill.  Weill,  bear  witnes  to  me,  that 
this  day  I  say  it,  or  it  be  long  the  Devill  shall  have 
Three  partis  of  the  Thrid  ;  and  judge  you  then  what 
Goddis  portioun  shalbe."  ^ 

Though  set  aside  by  the  Lords  of  the  Congregation, 
Knox,  both  at  home  and  elsewhere,  was  recognised  as 
one  of  the  forces  in  the  country.  Elizabeth's  minister, 
Cecil,  was  in  constant  communication  with  him  ;  ^  and 
the  leaders  of  the  Huguenots  counted  him  an  efficient 
ally.  In  the  last  days  of  156 1,  De  Foix,  the  ambassador 
of  Catharine  de'  Medici,  had  secret  meetings  with  him 
in  Edinburgh  with  a  view  to  common  action  between 
the  Protestants  of  France  and  Scotland  ;  ^  and  we  have 
it  from  Knox  himself  that  he  was  in  close  touch  with 
French  public  men.* 

In  March  1562  Knox's  services  were  called  for  in 
an  affair  which  for  many  reasons  must  have  deepened 
his  gloom  at  the  prospects  of  his  religion.  Since  the 
return  of  Mary,  the  Hamiltons  had  lost  the  importance 
that  had  naturally  fallen  to  them  during  the  late  revolu- 
tion. Their  past  conduct  had  not  been  such  as  to 
commend  them  to  Mary  ;  and  for  personal  reasons  they 
could  not  fall  in  with  the  policy  of  Lethington  and 
the  Lord  James.  Yet  Knox,  as  we  have  seen,  had 
formed  such  good  hopes  of  Arran  that  he  would  gladly 
have  seen  him  a  person  of  importance,  and  in  a  posi- 
tion to  counteract  the  mischievous  tendencies  of  the 

1  Works,  ii.  310. 

2  This  is  implied  in  Knox's  letter  to  Cecil  dated  6th  October  1563 
— Ibid.  vi.  528,  529. 

3  Kervyn  de  Lettenhove,  Relatioiis  polifiques  dcs  Pays-Bas  et  de 
P A?7gleterre,  sous  le  regne  de  Philippe  II.  L'Eveque  d'Aquila  a  Cardinal 
de  Granville,  3rd  Jan.  1561,  1562;  ii.  658.  *    Works,  ii.  330. 


174  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

Queen's  present  counsellors.  Through  the  mediation 
of  Knox,  Arran  and  the  Earl  of  Bothwell  were  induced 
to  lay  aside  a  long  feud  and  apparently  to  become  good 
friends.  Whatever  may  have  been  his  object,  it  was 
Bothwell  who  in  the  first  place  had  sought  the  recon- 
ciliation. But  the  new  association  was  not  happy  for 
Arran.  Shortly  afterwards  he  came  to  Knox  with  a 
wild  story,  which  was  doubtless,  in  large  degree,  the 
product  of  his  own  imagination  ;  but  which,  considering 
Bothwell's  character,  may  yet  have  had  some  founda- 
tion in  fact.  Bothwell,  he  said,  had  suggested  to  him 
a  plot  to  seize  the  Queen,  to  make  away  with  her 
present  advisers,  and  to  place  themselves  at  the  head 
of  affairs.  Whatever  may  have  been  the  truth  of  the 
story,  it  had  taken  possession  of  Arran's  mind,  and  his 
wits,  never  very  strong,  gave  way  under  the  strain. 
Among  the  higher  nobility,  therefore,  there  was  no 
longer  one  with  whom  Knox  was  in  accord  as  to  the 
best  guidance  of  the  country. 

As  things  now  went  at  Court,  it  was  only  through 
the  general  gatherings  of  the  Church  that  Knox  could 
hope  to  influence  the  direction  of  affairs.  The  presence 
in  Edinburgh  of  a  numerous  body  of  Protestant  barons 
and  gentlemen  was  a  menace  to  the  Queen  and  her 
advisers  that  the  danger  of  another  war  of  religion  was 
never  far  off.  On  the  29th  of  June  1562  the  Assembly 
once  more  met  to  deliberate  on  the  state  of  the  Church, 
—the  most  notable  outcome  of  its  proceedings  being 
an  address  to  the  Queen  drawn  up  by  Knox.^  The 
burden  of  the  address  was  still  the  old  demand,  now  so 
distasteful  to  men  like  Lethington,  that  the  Book  of 
Discipline  in  all  its  length  and  breadth  be  made  the 
law  of   the   land.       If   this  did   not   happen   speedily, 

1    Works,  ii.  2)11  '■>  Booke  of  t lie  Uiiiversall  Kirke,  P-  9- 


KNOX  AND   THE  POLITICIANS  175 

it  was  frankly  stated,  the  Assembly  would  not  be 
responsible  for  the  result.^  Couched  as  it  was  in 
Knox's  vigorous  style,  this  address  was  singularly  in- 
opportune for  the  Queen's  advisers,  and  they  did 
their  best  to  have  its  terms  modified  before  it  was  sub- 
mitted to  her.  One  passage  especially  was  thought  to 
savour  of  disloyalty.  In  plain  words  it  had  been  im- 
plied that  Mary  had  no  intention  of  giving  up  her  own 
religion,  but  had  the  full  purpose  of  restoring  the 
ancient  Church  to  its  former  place  and  honour.  But 
it  was  precisely  the  object  of  her  advisers  at  once  to 
gain  Mary  to  the  new  religion,  and  to  create  the  im- 
pression that  sooner  or  later  she  would  be  induced  to 
take  this  step.  Through  Maitland's  eager  efforts, 
therefore,  the  address  was  eventually  put  into  his  own 
hands  to  be  modified  as  he  thought  best.  In  his  haste 
to  undo  the  work  of  Knox,  however,  Maitland,  as 
sometimes  happened  to  him,  overreached  himself  by 
his  own  ingenuity.  As  the  document  left  his  hands  it 
had  so  little  the  character  of  a  Protestant  manifesto 
that  Mary's  suspicions  were  naturally  raised.  "  Here," 
she  exclaimed,  "ar  many  fair  wordis  ;  I  can  not  tell 
what  the  heartis  ar."^  It  was  the  weakness  of  their 
present  policy  that  the  Protestant  Lords  had  neither 
the  confidence  of  the  Queen  nor  of  the  congregations 
who  were  led  by  Knox. 

The  autumn  of  1562  brought  a  succession  of  events 
which  seemed  to  show  that  Mary  was  in  reality  work- 
ing into  the  hands  of  her  Protestant  advisers.  On  the 
I  ith  of  August  she  left  for  the  north  of  Scotland,  and 
did  not  return  till  the  21st  of  November.^  The  journey 
was  a  memorable  one,  and  ended  in  results  as  decisive 

1    Works,  ii.  342.  2  /^/^/_  p_  045. 

^  Chalmers,  Life  of  Queen  Mary,  vol.  i.  sect.  iv. 


176  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

as  they  were  probably  unforeseen.  The  Cathohc  Earl 
of  Huntly,  the  mightiest  noble  in  Scotland,^  fell  in  a 
revolt  against  the  Queen's  authority,  and  his  power 
passed  to  her  natural  brother,  the  Lord  James.  The 
day  after  Mary  left  for  the  North,  Knox  set  out  on  a 
visitation  of  the  churches  in  Ayrshire  and  Galloway, 
the  great  strongholds  of  Protestantism.  In  the  circum- 
stances his  journey  could  have  but  one  great  end.  The 
Queen's  errand  in  the  North,  accompanied  as  she  was 
by  her  chief  advisers,  filled  him  with  deep  misgiv- 
ings. Whatever  might  be  the  issue  of  their  doings, 
he  could  have  no  hope  that  they  would  be  for  the  good 
of  the  faithful.  It  was  to  prepare  for  the  worst,  there- 
fore, that  he  now  undertook  his  visit  to  the  West. 
During  August  and  September,  it  would  seem  that  he 
toiled  to  waken  the  chief  men  in  Ayrshire  to  a  sense 
of  the  danger  that  threatened  their  Church.  As  the 
result  of  his  labours,  a  "  Band  "  was  subscribed  at  Ayr 
on  the  4th  of  September  by  which  the  signatories  bound 
themselves  to  mutual  defence  and  common  action 
against  all  enemies  of  their  religion.^  Knox  had,  in 
truth,  every  reason  to  be  satisfied  with  his  mission. 
The  Earl  of  Glencairn  and  above  a  hundred  barons, 
gentlemen,  and  burgesses,  put  their  names  to  the  Band, 
so  that  if  the  worst  should  come,  in  Ayrshire  there  was 
always  a  solid  phalanx  of  zealous  believers  who  would 
show  an  unshaken  front. 

During  his  visit  to  Ayrshire  Knox  had  an  encounter, 
which  deserves  a  passing  notice  as  a  characteristic 
incident  of  the  time.  One  of  the  most  zealous  and 
accomplished  of  the  old  clergy  was  Quintin  Kennedy, 

1  Knox  says  of  Huntly  that  "  under  a  prince  thair  was  not  suche  a  one 
these  thre  hundreth  yearis  in  this  Reahne  produced." — Works^  ii.  358. 

2  Ibid.  p.  348. 


KNOX  AND   THE  POLITICIANS  177 

fourth  son  of  the  second  Earl  of  Cassillis,  and  at  this 
time  Abbot  of  Crossraguel,  near  the  town  of  Maybole. 
If  we  may  judge  from  his  writings  that  have  been 
preserved  to  us,  Kennedy  was  the  ablest  champion  the 
ancient  Church  counted  in  its  ranks.  In  1558  he  had 
published  a  little  book  ^  in  which  he  stated  the  case 
for  the  Roman  communion  with  a  persuasiveness  and 
ability  that  perceptibly  affected  the  progress  of  the  new 
opinions.'-  In  his  zeal  for  the  tottering  Church,  also, 
Kennedy  had,  a  year  later,  challenged  John  Willock  to 
a  public  discussion,  which,  however,  did  not  take  place.^ 
On  the  appearance  of  Knox  in  Ayrshire,  Kennedy  at 
once  threw  down  the  glove  to  the  most  redoubtable  of 
all  the  Protestant  champions.  After  a  testy  correspon- 
dence, in  which  the  Abbot  shows  little  evidence  of  an 
apostolic  temper,  the  meeting  was  fixed  for  the  28th 
of  September,  at  the  Provost's  house  in  Maybole.  On 
the  day,  and  at  the  place  appointed,  the  dispute  began 
at  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  lasted  for  three 
days.  By  previous  arrangement  the  persons  present 
consisted  of  the  Earl  of  Cassillis,  twenty  friends  of  each 
disputant,  the  reporting  notaries,  and  as  many  others  as 
the  house  could  conveniently  hold. 

The  discussion  was  a  fresh  illustration  of  what  has 
already  been  so  often  pointed  out.  Though  they 
differed  so  widely  in  their  conclusions  as  to  the  teaching 

^  The  title  of  this  book  is  "  Ane  Compendius  Tractive,  conforme  to 
the  Scripturis  of  Ahnychtie  God,  Reassoun,  and  Authoritie,  declaring  the 
nerrest  and  onHe  way  to  estabhsche  the  conscience  of  ane  Christiane  man 
in  all  materis  (quhilk  ar  in  debate)  concernyng  Faith  and  Religioun. 
Set  forth  in  the  yeir  of  God,  1558  yeris."  4to.  It  is  printed  in  the 
Wodrow  Misccllafiy. 

^  John  Davidson,  Principal  of  the  College  of  Glasgow,  in  his  reply  to 
Kennedy's  '*  Tractive,"  expressly  admits  this.  See  Wodrow  iMisc.  i. 
91,  186. 

•^  See  Wodrow  Misc.  vol.  i.  for  correspondence  between  Willock 
and  Kennedy. 

VOL.  II  .  12 


178  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

of  Scripture,  in  their  fashion  of  handHng  its  texts  there 
was  no  essential  difference  between  the  representatives 
of  the  two  faiths.  Of  the  historic  relations  of  individual 
texts  Knox  was  as  unconscious  as  his  opponent  who 
represented  the  full  tradition  of  the  ancient  Church. 
For  the  modern  reader  their  debate  is  as  devoid  of 
significance  as  any  scholastic  dispute  ever  held  within 
the  walls  of  the  Sorbonne.  In  the  mere  trial  of  wits, 
however,  Knox  was  more  than  a  match  for  the  Abbot, 
whose  excitable  temper  unfitted  him  for  oral  con- 
troversy. In  the  very  choice  of  his  position  Kennedy 
gave  himself  away  to  his  antagonist.  "  I  define  the 
Messe,"  he  said,  "  as  concerning  the  substance  and 
effect  to  be  the  sacrifice  and  oblation  of  the  Lordes 
bodie  and  blude,  given  and  offered  by  him  in  the 
latter  Supper,  and  takis  the  Scripture  to  my  warrand 
according  to  my  artickle  as  it  is  written.  And  for  the 
first  confirmation  of  the  same,"  he  adds,  "groundes 
me  upon  the  sacrifice  and  oblation  of  Melchisedec."^ 
By  their  common  methods  of  reasoning  Knox  had 
little  difficulty  in  putting  his  opponent  in  a  strait 
place.  It  was  a  precarious  conclusion  from  the  bare 
text  of  Scripture  that  the  sacrificial  Mass  was  in 
"  substance  and  effect "  the  original  Lord's  Supper ; 
and  it  was  a  still  more  hazardous  argument  to  find 
the  chief  authority  for  that  Mass  in  Melchisedec's 
offering  bread  and  wine  to  Abraham." 

But  his  duel  with  the  Abbot  of  Crossraguel  was 
for  Knox  a  mere  casual  incident  of  his  visit  to  the 
South  and  West.  In  connection  with  this  visit  he  took 
credit  for  achieving  results  of  the  first  importance  to 

1  Works ^  vi.  196. 

2  Ninian  Winzet,  another  Catholic  writer,  also  challenged  Knox  to 
a  controversy.  Beyond  a  few  remarks  from  the  pulpit,  however,  Knox 
took  no  notice  of  this  challenge. 


KNOX  AND   THE  POLITICIANS  179 

the  country.  As  the  autumn  wore  on,  the  most  con- 
flicting rumours  prevailed  regarding  events  in  the 
North.  Now  the  story  went  that  the  Lord  James 
and  his  friends  had  been  cut  off;  and,  again,  that 
Mary  and  Huntly  had  joined  arms  against  her  late 
advisers.^  The  parts  of  the  South,  according  to  Knox, 
were  in  a  state  of  vague  uneasiness,  which  at  any 
moment  might  grow  to  civil  war.  To  avert  such  an 
issue  he  himself  was  indefatigable.  In  Nithsdale  he 
held  confidential  communication  with  the  Warden  of 
the  West  Marches,  the  Master  of  Maxwell,  whom  he 
persuaded  to  bring  his  influence  to  bear  on  the  Earl 
of  Bothwell,  at  this  moment  living  in  the  hope  of  a 
revolution  to  better  his  fortune.  To  Chatelherault, 
also,  Knox  wrote,  eagerly  pressing  on  him  to  give 
heed  to  his  brother  the  Archbishop,  and,  as  he  valued 
the  safety  of  his  house,  to  have  no  dealings  with 
Huntly.  "  By  such  meanis,"  he  complacently  writes, 
"  war  the  South  partis  keapte  in  reassonable  quyetness, 
during  the  tyme  that  the  trubles  war  in  brewing  in  the 
North."- 

By  November  Knox  was  again  in  Edinburgh,  and 
on  the  last  Sunday  of  that  month  entertained  a  small 
supper-party  at  his  house,  consisting  of  the  Duke  of 
Chatelherault  and  the  English  resident,  Randolph.  By 
this  date,  it  should  be  said,  the  Queen  also  had  returned 
to  the  capital,  and  her  future  action  was  exercising 
Knox  as  much  as  ever.  In  view  of  all  contingencies 
it  was  still  Knox's  steadfast  conviction  that  England 
and  Scotland  must  go  hand  in  hand  if  religion  were 
be  saved  in  both  countries.  Moray  and  Lethington 
had  once  been  of  the  same  opinion  ;  but  he  no  longer 
shared  their  counsels,  and  dark  rumours  now  went  of 

■*    Works,  ii.  351.  2  ll)id. 


i8o  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

a  scheme  to  which  they  had  given  their  approval — the 
very  thought  of  which  must  have  cost  him  many  a 
spiritual  wrestle.  Of  such  sympathisers  as  were  still 
left  to  him,  he  had  now  to  make  the  most.  Chatel- 
herault  was  no  longer  a  leading  force  in  the  country, 
yet,  if  well  counselled,  he  might  be  a  check  on  the 
policy  of  the  Court.  On  the  occasion  of  the  supper, 
therefore,  Knox  drew  from  him  three  distinct  pledges 
as  to  his  future  conduct.  He  should  abide  a  faithful 
Protestant  and  an  obedient  subject  to  his  sovereign, 
and  should  do  his  best  to  maintain  the  amity  between 
the  two  realms.  "  I  wyll  beleeve  them  all,"  wrote 
Randolph,  "  as  I  see  them  tayke  effecte,  but  truste 
that  yt  shall  never  lye  in  his  worde  alone."  ^ 

During  the  last  months  of  1562  the  prospect  was 
not  cheering  for  those  who,  like  Knox,  looked  for  the 
eventual  triumph  of  Protestantism  in  Europe.  Civil 
war  between  the  two  religions  had  broken  out  in 
France ;  and  the  Huguenots,  though  supported  by 
Elizabeth,  had  suffered  heavy  reverses.  The  Guises 
were  again  in  the  ascendant,  and  in  England  and 
Scotland  their  ascendency  was  already  influencing 
the  relation  of  the  two  Queens.  With  the  triumphs  of 
Mary's  relatives  in  France,  Knox  justly  or  unjustly 
associated  the  unusual  festivity  of  the  Court  at 
Holyrood  in  December  1562  ;  and  his  wrath  was 
further  moved  by  the  stories  he  heard  of  the  cruelties 
inflicted  on  the  brethren  in  France.  From  the  pulpit 
he  denounced  the  Queen's  merrymaking  in  terms  that 
made  her  demand  another  interview  with  her  untract- 
able  subject."     The  object  of  the  interview  was  doubt- 

1    Works,  vi.  145.      Randolph  to  Cecil,  30th  November  1562. 

"  Ibid.  ii.  331.  This  interview  took  place  on  the  15th  December 
1562,  as  we  learn  from  a  passage  in  a  letter  of  Randolph  to  Cecil  (i6th 
December  1562).      "Upon  Sundaye  laste  he  inveied  sore  agaynst  the 


KNOX  AND   THE  POLITICIANS  iSi 


less  to  overawe  Knox,  and  in  the  case  of  most  men 
the  circumstances  under  which  he  was  received  would 
sorely  have  tried  their  steadfastness.  "The  Quene," 
he  tells  us,  "  was  in  hir  bedchalmer,  and  with  hir  besydis 
the  ladyis  and  the  commoun  servandis,  war  the  Lord 
James,  the  Erie  of  Mortoun,  Secreatarie  Lethingtoun, 
and  some  of  the  garde  that  had  maid  the  report."  ^  In 
a  "long  harangue  or  orisoun  "  the  Queen  taxed  him 
with  exceeding  his  privilege  as  a  preacher,  and  of 
seeking  to  make  her  odious  to  her  subjects.  But 
Knox  would  not  admit  that  she  had  been  rightly  in- 
formed as  to  the  real  purport  of  his  discourse  and, 
nothing  loath,  as  we  may  believe,  he  recapitulated  text 
and  sermon  as  they  had  been  actually  delivered.  Even 
as  reported  by  himself,  his  words  were  not  such  as 
have  often  been  heard  in  Courts ;  yet  Mary  was 
pleased  to  say  that  they  were  less  offensive  than  she 
had  been  led  to  believe,  adding  that  in  future  he 
should  tell  her  to  her  face  when  her  conduct  displeased 
him.  "  I  am  called,  Madam,"  was  the  unflinching 
reply,  "  to  ane  publict  functioun  within  the  Kirk  of 
God,  and  am  appointed  by  God  to  rebuk  the  synnes 
and  vices  of  all.  I  am  not  appointed  to  come  to 
everie  man  in  particular  to  schaw  him  his  offense  ; 
for  that  laubour  war  infinite.  Yf  your  Grace  please 
to  frequent  the  publict  sermonis,  then  doubt  I  nott 
but  that  ye  shall  fullie  understand  boyth  what  I  like 
and  myslike,  als  weall  in  your  Majestie  as  in  all  otheris. 
Or  yf  your  Grace  will  assigne  unto  me  a  certane  day 

Quene's  dansynge,  and  lyttle  exercise  of  her  self  in  vertue  or  godlines  : 
the  report  hereof  beinge  broughte  into  her  eares'  yesterdaye,  she  sent  for 
him.  She  talked  longe  tyme  with  hym,  lyttle  lykynge  ther  was  betwene 
them  of  th'  one  or  th'  other,  yet  dyd  theie  so  depart  as  no  offence  or 
slaunder  dyd  ryse  ther  upon." — Works,  vi.  147. 
1  Jbid. 


1 82  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 


and  hour  when  it  will  please  you  to  hear  the  forme 
and  substance  of  doctrin,  whiche  is  proponed  in  publict 
to  the  Churches  of  this  Realme,  I  will  most  gladlie 
await  upoun  your  Grace's  pleasur,  tyme,  and  place. 
But  to  waitt  upoun  your  chalmer-doore  or  ellis  whair, 
and  then  to  have  no  farther  libertie  but  to  whisper  my 
mynd  in  your  Grace's  eare,  or  to  tell  to  you  what 
otheris  think  and  speak  of  you,  neather  will  my  con- 
science nor  the  vocatioun  whairto  God  hath  called  me 
to  suffer  it.  For  albeit  at  your  Grace's  commandiment 
I  am  heare  now,  yitt  can  not  I  tell  what  other  men 
shall  judge  of  me,  that  at  this  tyme  of  day  am  absent 
from  my  book  and  wayting  upoun  the  Courte." 

This  second  interview,  like  the  first,  only  widened 
the  breach  between  the  Queen  and  the  preacher. 
With  all  his  stern  enthusiasm  Knox  could  not  sub- 
jugate a  mind  which  like  Mary's  revolted  from  the 
very  type  to  which  he  belonged.  To  this  haughty 
rejoinder  she  curtly  replied,  "You  will  not  alwayis  be 
at  your  book."  As  for  himself,  he  adds  in  one  of  the 
famous  passages  of  his  History,  "the  said  John  Knox 
departed  with  a  reasonable  meary  countenance  ;  whairat 
some  Papistis  offended  said,  '  He  is  not  effrayed.'  Which 
heard  of  him,  he  answered,  '  Why  should  the  pleasing 
face  of  a  gentill  woman  effray  me  }  I  have  looked  in 
the  faces  of  many  angrie  men,  and  yitt  have  nott  bene 
effrayed  above  measure.'  "  ^ 

The  day  following  this  interview  Randolph  wrote 
a  letter  to  Cecil  in  which  we  have  an  interesting  glimpse 
of  Knox.  "  Mr.  Knox  hathe  oftayne  tymes  tolde  me," 
he  writes,  "that  he  is  to  blame  that  he  hathe  not  wrytten 
unto  your  Honour  of  longe  tyme.  Of  late  he  required 
me  to  convoie  letters  unto  your  Honour.      I  knowe  his 

1    Works,  ii.  334,  335. 


KNOX  AND   THE  POLITICIANS  183 

good  zeal  and  affection  that  he  beareth  to  our  nation. 
I  knowe  also  that  his  travaile  and  care  is  great  to  unite 
the  hartes  of  the  princes  and  people  of  these  two  realmes, 
in  perpetuall  love  and  hartie  kyndnes.  I  knowe  that 
he  mystrustethe  more  in  his  owne  Soveregnes  parte 
then  he  dothe  of  ours,  he  hathe  no  hope  (to  use  his 
owne  termes)  that  she  wyll  ever  come  to  God,  or  do 
good  in  the  common  welthe.  He  is  so  full  of  mystrust 
in  all  her  doyngs,  wordes,  and  sayengs,  as  though  he 
wer  eyther  of  God's  privie  consell,  that  knowe  howe 
he  had  determined  of  her  from  the  begynynge,  or  that 
he  knewe  the  secretes  of  her  harte  so  well,  that  nether 
she  dyd  or  culde  have  for  ever  one  good  thought  of 
God  or  of  his  trewe  religion."  ^  Randolph  undoubtedly 
reports  Knox's  fixed  conviction  regarding  Mary ;  but 
more  even  than  the  Queen  her  Protestant  advisers 
roused  his  indignation.  "And  yitt,"  he  bitterly  exclaims, 
"who  gydis  the  Ouene  and  Court?  Who  but  the 
Protestantis  ?  "  -  These  words  likewise  refer  to  the 
close  of  1562,  and  we  shall  see  that  Knox  was  to  have 
still  further  reason  for  deploring  the  declension  of  his 
former  friends  and  allies. 

A  week  after  Knox's  last  interview  with  the 
Queen  the  General  Assembly  met  in  Edinburgh 
(25th  December).  As  at  every  previous  meeting 
there  were  loud  complaints  of  the  lack  of  ministers, 
the  meagreness  of  stipends,  and  the  progress  of  idolatry ; 
but  there  seems  to  have  been  no  direct  collision  between 
the  Assembly  and  the  Court.  One  unpleasant  business, 
however,  devolved  upon  Knox,  which  he  had  a  grim 
satisfaction  in  discharging.  Paul  Methven,  who  had 
been  a  fervent  preacher  in  the  days  when  there  was 

^    Works,  vi.  146.      Randolph  to  Cecil,  i6th  December  1562. 
-  Ibid.  ii.  363. 


1 84  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

real  danger  in  publicly  professing  Protestantism,  had 
been  accused  of  adultery  in  the  town  of  Jedburgh, 
That  such  a  charge  should  hang  over  a  minister  of  the 
Reformed  Church  was  not  to  be  tolerated,  and  Knox, 
along  with  certain  Edinburgh  elders,  was  despatched 
to  Jedburgh  to  ascertain  what  truth  lay  in  the  scandal. 
On  satisfactory  evidence  the  charge  was  found  to  be 
true,  and  at  a  subsequent  meeting  of  the  Assembly 
Methven  was  publicly  excommunicated  and  deprived 
of  his  ministerial  functions.  "  For  two  causes,"  Knox 
concludes  his  curiously  minute  account  of  this  affair, 
"  we  insert  this  horrible  fact,  and  the  ordour  keapt  in 
punishment  of  the  same  :  formar.  To  forwairne  such 
as  travaill  in  that  vocatioun,  that,  according  to  the 
admonitioun  of  the  Apostle,  '  Suche  as  stand,  tack  heed 
lest  thei  fall.'  .  .  .  The  other  caus  is,  that  the  world 
may  see  what  difference  thair  is  betwix  light  and 
darknes,  betwix  the  uprychtnes  of  the  Churche  of 
God,  and  the  corruptioun  that  ringes  [reigns]  in  the 
synagoge  of  Sathan,  the  Papisticall  rable."  ^ 

From  the  general  tendency  of  affairs  since  Mary's 
arrival  the  Catholic  clergy  were  naturally  encouraged 
to  form  good  hopes  for  the  near  future.  As  the  law 
stood,  they  were  forbidden  the  public  exercise  of  their 
religion  ;  but  the  slackness  of  the  government  had  in 
some  degree  made  the  law  a  dead  letter.  During  the 
Easter  of  1563  the  mass  was  celebrated  in  different 
parts  of  the  country  in  such  open  fashion  that  the 
Protestants  resolved  on  stringent  measures.  In  the 
West,  where  the  new  opinions  were  most  widely  spread, 
certain  priests  were  placed  under  ward,  and  others  were 

^  Works^  ii.  366;  Booke  of  the  Univcrsall  Kirkc,  p.  14.  See 
Appendix  C  for  a  slander  raised  in  Edinburgh  against  Knox's  own 
character. 


KNOX  AND   THE  POLITICIANS  185 

warned  that  the  punishment  of  idolaters  would  be  duly 
meted  to  them,  regardless  alike  of  Queen  and  Council. 
The  news  of  this  reaching  the  Queen's  ears,  she  once 
more  sent  for  Knox,  as  the  soul  of  all  the  mischief.^ 
As  she  was  then  at  Lochleven,  Knox  had  the  trouble 
of  a  journey  all  the  way  from  Edinburgh.  For  two 
hours  before  supper  Mary  laboured  with  him  to  use 
his  influence  in  keeping  the  peace  between  the  Protest- 
ant gentlemen  and  the  priests.  Knox  was  not  to  be 
moved.  It  was  the  law  of  the  land  that  mass  should 
not  be  said  in  public,  and  if  her  Majesty  would  not 
enforce  the  law  it  lay  with  her  subjects  to  see  that  it 
was  enforced.  "  Will  ye,"  asked  Mary,  "  allow  that 
that  thei  shall  tack  my  sweard  in  thair  hand  ?  "  The 
answer  was  ready.  Samuel  slew  Agag,  Elijah  slew 
the  prophets  of  Baal ;  and  in  either  case  the  act  was 
independent  of  royal  authority.  As  on  the  previous 
occasions  the  interview  came  to  nothing,  and  Mary 
closed  the  conversation  with  manifest  displeasure." 

On  leaving  the  Queen,  Knox  had  communicated 
to  Moray  ^  the  result  of  the  meeting.  It  was  probably 
at  Moray's  suggestion,  therefore,  that  Mary  sought 
another  interview  next  morning,  apparently  with  the 
purpose  of  parting  on  better  terms  with  her  trouble- 
some subject.  The  meeting  took  place  before  sunrise, 
to  the  west  of  Kinross,  the  Queen  being  abroad  thus 
early  on  her  favourite  diversion  of  hawking.  She 
appeared  to  have  forgotten  the  misunderstanding  of 
the  previous  evening,  and  with  an  air  of  winning 
candour    sought    and    volunteered    advice    on    certain 

^  This  interview  probably  took  place  on  the  13th  of  April  1563. 
On  the  15th  of  that  month  Mary  left  Lochleven  for  Perth. 

2    Works,  ii.  371  et  seq. 

^  The  Earidom  of  Moray  had  been  conferred  on  the  Lord  James 
during  the  late  expedition  to  the  North  against  Huntly. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 


matters  in  which  they  had  a  common  interest.  Twice 
in  the  course  of  their  talk  Knox  exhibited  traits  of 
character  for  which  Mary,  of  a  generous  and  high 
spirit  herself,  must  in  her  heart  have  done  him  justice. 
When  she  blamed  Lethington  for  procuring  the 
admission  of  Lord  Ruthven  into  her  Council,  the  reply 
was,  "  That  man  is  absent  for  this  present.  Madam, 
and  thairfor  I  will  speak  nothing  in  that  behalf."  As 
we  have  seen,  Knox  was  convinced  that  Lethington 
was  the  source  of  all  the  evil  of  the  last  two  years,  and 
to  Mary  herself  Lethington  was  ever  the  object  of  deep- 
rooted  suspicion.  But  it  was  the  nature  of  Knox  to  be  a 
fair  and  open  enemy,  and  he  disdained  to  lay  a  train  even 
against  one  who  had  so  often  made  a  jest  of  his  own 
most  cherished  aspirations.  When  Mary  also  warned 
Knox  against  Gordon,  titular  Archbishop  of  Athens, 
he  again  refused  to  listen,  because  Gordon  was  at  that 
time  on  terms  of  intimacy  with  himself.  Evidently 
bent  on  making  herself  gracious,  Mary  further  asked 
Knox's  good  offices  in  a  matter  that  concerned  her 
own  family.  Her  half  sister.  Lady  Argyle,  had  long 
been  on  bad  terms  with  her  husband,  and  her  conduct 
was  giving  room  for  public  scandal.  Would  he  use 
his  influence  to  effect  a  better  understanding  between 
the  husband  and  wife  '^  And  with  happy  art  she 
closed  the  interview  with  a  remark  which  had,  doubtless, 
been  her  main  object  in  seeking  it.  "  And  now,"  she 
said,  "  as  tueching  our  reassonyng  yisternycht,  I 
promess  to  do  as  ye  requyred  ;  I  sail  caus  summond 
all  ofifendaris,  and  ye  shall  know  that  I  shall  minister 
Justice."^  * 

Mary    had    now    been    nearly    two    years    in    the 
country,  and  Parliament  had  not  been  once  summoned. 

1    Works,  ii.  373  et  seq. 


KNOX  AND  THE  POLITICIANS  187 

For  this  there  were  reasons  of  home  and  foreign  poHcy 
which  have  been  impHed  in  what  has  already  been  said. 
The  governing  object  of  Mary  and  her  advisers  was 
to  have  her  recos^nised  as  EHzabeth's  successor  to  the 
EngHsh  throne  ;  the  desire  of  Ehzabeth  was  to  have 
the  Treaty  of  Edinburgh  formally  sanctioned  by  the 
Scottish  Queen  and  Estates.  In  postponing  the  meet- 
ing of  the  Estates,  therefore,  lay  Mary's  chief  hope 
of  forcing  the  hand  of  Elizabeth.  In  the  state  of 
parties  in  Scotland,  also,  there  were  special  reasons 
why  neither  Mary  nor  the  Protestant  Lords  should 
desire  the  meeting  of  the  Estates.  Mary  had  the 
natural  fear  that  she  might  be  forced  to  make  con- 
cessions to  Protestantism,  binding  her  to  a  course  of 
action  from  which  there  might  be  no  retreat.  The 
Protestant  Lords,  on  the  other  hand,  were  not  in  a 
position  to  carry  such  decided  measures  as  in  their 
hearts  they  might  think  were  for  the  good  of  the 
country.  The  Queen,  they  knew,  would  never  consent 
to  such  demands  as  Knox  and  his  supporters  would 
certainly  lay  before  them.  When  the  Parliament  did 
meet,  therefore,  it  was  with  the  mutual  understanding 
of  the  Queen  and  her  Council  that  no  great  measures 
should  be  passed  that  would  seriously  affect  the  exist- 
ing state  of  affairs  alike  in  policy  and  religion. 

Before  Parliament  met,  a  politic  step  was  taken  by 
way  of  conciliating  the  main  body  of  zealous  Protest- 
ants. In  accordance  with  Mary's  promises  to  Knox  at 
Lochleven,  forty-eight  persons  who  had  defied  the  law 
regarding  the  mass  were  tried  before  the  Court  of 
Justiciary  on  the  19th  of  May.^  As  no  less  a  person 
than   Archbishop    Hamilton  was  among  the  accused, 

^    Works^   ii.  379  ;    Pitcairn,    Criminal   Trials^   i.    427  ;  Diurnal  of 
Occurrents,  p.  75. 


1 88  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

and  as  Hamilton  himself  and  the  majority  of  the  others 
were  committed  to  ward  for  breach  of  law,  it  seemed 
that  the  government  was  at  last  taking  decided 
measures  for  the  final  establishment  of  Protestantism. 
In  reality,  neither  Mary  nor  her  Council  had  any  such 
intention  when  they  summoned  the  present  Parliament. 
Yet  by  this  apparent  hard  dealing  with  the  old  clergy 
they  attained  the  end  at  which  they  doubtless  aimed. 
Had  the  Reformed  barons  and  burgesses  swarmed  to 
the  meeting  of  Estates  as  in  1560,  the  result  might 
have  been  serious  for  the  public  peace.  But  when  the 
most  zealous  of  the  Protestants  saw  Catholic  clergy 
placed  under  ward  all  over  the  country,  they  confidently 
hoped  that  their  day  of  triumph  was  at  last  approach- 
ing. Knox  was  not  deceived  by  what  he  knew  to  be 
a  transparent  artifice,  and  his  wrath  was  proportionably 
great  as  he  saw  its  success  with  so  many  on  whose 
steadfastness  he  reckoned.  "  Sche  "  [Mary],  he  writes 
"  obtained  of  the  Protestantis  whatsoever  sche  desyred  ; 
for  this  was  the  reassone  of  many.  We  see  what  the 
Queue  has  done  ;  the  lyck  of  this  was  never  heard  of 
within  the  Realme  :  we  will  bear  with  the  Queue ;  we 
doubt  not  but  all  shalbe  weill."  ^ 

The  Parliament  met  on  the  26th  of  May  with  a 
splendour  and  ceremony  which  was  specially  distasteful 
to  Knox,  knowing  as  he  did  the  real  intentions  of  the 
Court ;  and  the  popular  admiration  of  the  Queen  drew 
from  him  the  most  splenetic  outbursts  against  female 
vanity  in  particular.  His  fears  were  now  justified  to 
the  full.  Parliament  would  have  nothing  to  do  with 
the  Book  of  Discipline  or  any  serious  measures  in 
favour  of  true  religion.  At  this  moment,  Knox  and 
his  friends  were  told,  it  would  be  impolitic  to  press  the 

1    Works,  ii.  380. 


KNOX  AND   THE  POLITICIANS 


Queen  to  further  action  against  her  own  faith.  But 
her  marriage  could  not  be  long  deferred  ;  and  as  she 
would  herself  have  favours  to  ask,  then  would  be 
the  time  to  insist  on  her  making  the  necessary  reforms 
in  the  Church.  It  was  with  Moray  that  Knox  was 
specially  disappointed  in  the  crisis  through  which  they 
were  passing.  In  spite  of  what  he  deemed  the  Earl's 
backsliding  during  the  previous  two  years,  he  had  never 
lost  hope  that  he  would  yet  be  the  Joshua  who  should 
lead  them  into  the  Land  of  Promise.  When  Moray 
now  failed  him,  therefore,  it  was  as  keen  a  disappoint- 
ment as  life  had  brought  to  him.  "  The  mater  fell  so 
hote,"  he  says,  "  betwix  the  Erie  of  Murray  and  some 
otheris  of  the  Courte,  and  Johne  Knox,  that  familiarlie 
after  that  tyme  thei  spack  nott  together  more  then  a  year 
and  a  half;  for  the  said  Johne  by  his  letter  gave  a  dis- 
chargeto  the  said  Erie  of  all  further  intromissioun  orcayr 
with  his  affaires."  In  a  letter  addressed  to  Moray  he 
recalled  to  him  their  first  intercourse,  their  now  ancient 
friendship,  and  concluded  in  words  which  must  have 
stung  Moray  none  the  less  that  they  implied  a  misappre- 
hension of  the  deepest  motives  that  determined  him. 
"  But  seing  that  I  perceave  myself  frustrat  of  my 
expectatioun,  which  was  that  ye  should  ever  have  pre- 
ferred God  to  your  awin  affectioun  and  the  advancement 
of  his  treuth  to  your  singular  commodite,  I  commit 
you  to  your  awin  wytt,  and  to  the  conducting  of  those 
who  better  please  you.  I  praise  my  God,  I  this  day 
leave  you  victour  of  your  enemyes,  promoted  to  great 
honouris,  and  in  credytt  and  authoritie  with  your 
Soverane.  Yf  so  ye  long  continew,  none  within  the 
Realme  shalbe  more  glad  than  I  shalbe :  but  yf  that  after 
this  ye  shall  decay  (as  I  fear  that  ye  shall),  then  call  to 
mynd  by  what  meanes  God  exalted  you  ;  quhilk  was 


I  go  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

neather    by    bearing   with    impietie,    neather   yitt    by 
manteanyng  of  pestilent  Papistis."^ 

By  this  quarrel  of  Moray  and  Knox  the  Protestant 
party  received  the  heaviest  blow  that  could  have 
befallen  it.  They  were  the  two  most  powerful  men  in  the 
country,  and  if  they  had  made  common  counsel,  they 
might  have  dictated  terms  to  Mary  which  she  could  not 
have  refused  without  the  risk  of  civil  war.  That  Moray 
chose  to  work  with  Lethington  rather  than  with  Knox  is 
the  best  proof  that  at  heart  he  was  loyal  to  Mary  both  as 
his  sister  and  his  Queen.  For  Mary,  therefore,  the 
breach  between  the  two  Protestant  leaders  was  of  the 
first  importance ;  and  we  may  readily  believe  what 
Knox  tells  us  that  her  friends  "  ceassed  nott  to  cast  oyle 
in  the  burnyng  flambe."^ 

As  at  every  important  juncture,  Knox's  inevitable 
sermon  and  interview  with  Mary  followed  the  meet- 
ing of  Parliament ;  "  befoir  the  most  parte  of  the 
Nobilitie"  he  discoursed  in  his  most  moving  tones  of 
the  mercies  that  had  attended  their  steps  till  the  great 
victory  that  was  sealed  by  the  Parliament  of  1560. 
Even  the  sternest  of  his  hearers  could  not  have  heard 
without  emotion  such  a  passage  as  the  following, 
delivered,  as  we  know  it  would  be,  with  that  prophetic 
fervour  which  was  Knox's  special  gift  as  a  preacher. 
"  From  the  begyning  of  Goddis  mychty  wirking  within 
this  Realme,  I  have  bein  with  you  in  your  most 
desperat  tentationis.  Ask  your  awin  consciences,  and 
lett  thame  answer  you  befoir  God,  yf  that  I  (not  I,  but 
Goddis  Spirite  by  me)  in  your  greatest  extremitie 
willed  you  nott  ever  to  depend  upoun  your  God,  and  in 
his  name  promissed  unto  you  victorye  and  preservatioun 
from  your  enemyes,  so  that  ye  wold  only  depend  upoun 

1    Works,  ii.  382,  383.  2  ii,i,i  p.  383. 


KNOX  AND   THE  POLITICIANS  191 

his  protection  and  preferr  his  glory  to  your  awin  lyves 
and  worldlie  commoditie.  In  your  most  extreame 
dangearis  I  have  bein  with  you  :  Sanct  Johnestoun, 
Cowper  Mure,  and  the  Craiggis  of  Edinburgh,  ar  yitt 
recent  in  my  heart ;  yea,  that  dark  and  dolorouse 
nyght  whairin  all  ye,  my  Lordis,  with  schame  and  feare 
left  this  toune,  is  yitt  in  my  mynd  ;  and  God  forbid  that 
ever  I  forgett  it."^ 

In  the  circumstances  in  which  the  sermon  was 
delivered  the  Queen  could  not  escape  the  preacher's 
animadversion.  It  was  the  plea  of  the  Protestant  Lords 
that  deference  to  Mary  as  their  Queen  stayed  their 
hands  from  completing  the  work  of  the  Reformation. 
The  plea  met  short  quarter  from  one  who  could  not 
understand  how  a  woman,  even  though  a  Queen,  should 
stand  in  the  way  of  realising  the  work  of  God.  "  The 
Quene,  say  ye,"  he  burst  forth,  "will  not  agree  with  us. 
Ask  ye  of  hir  that  which  by  Goddis  word  ye  may  justlie 
requyre,  and  yf  she  will  not  agree  with  you  in  God,  ye 
ar  not  bound  to  agree  with  hir  in  the  Devill :  Lett  hir 
plainelie  understand  so  far  of  your  myndis,  and  steall 
not  from  your  formar  stoutness  in  God,  and  he  shall 
prosper  you  in  your  interpryses."^  But  the  part  of 
the  sermon  which  gave  special  offence  to  Mary,  was 
where  the  preacher  took  upon  him  to  censure  the 
rumoured  project  of  her  marriage.  What  these 
rumours  were  we  shall  afterwards  see.^  For  Mary 
it  was  enough  that  Knox  had  dared  to  question  her 
right   to  bestow  her  hand  where  she  might  choose  ; 

^  Works^  ii.  384.  The  "  dark  and  dolorouse  nyght"  to  which  Knox 
refers  was  that  of  6th  November  1559,  when  the  Lords  of  the  Congrega- 
tion were  forced  to  leave  Edinburgh.      See  p.  59  above. 

2  Ibid.  p.  385. 

3  At  this  time  Knox  had  reason  to  believe  that  Moray  and  Lething- 
ton  were  in  favour  of  a  marriage  between  Mary  and  Don  Carlos  of  Spain. 


192  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

and  for  the  fourth  and  last  time  she  summoned  him 
to  her  presence. 

Accompanied  by  a  troop  of  his  friends,  Knox  made 
his  way  to  the  Abbey ;  but  with  the  exception  of 
Erskine  of  Dun  none  were  allowed  to  attend  him  to 
the  Queen's  presence.  On  this  occasion  Mary  made 
no  attempt  to  disguise  her  real  feelings.  In  "a  vehe- 
ment fume "  she  broke  into  reproaches  against  the 
immitigable  preacher.  But  the  whole  passage  in 
which  Knox  has  described  the  interview  is  so  memor- 
able that  it  must  be  quoted  in  full.  As  mere  literature, 
these  pages  may  be  considered  as  exhibiting  Knox's 
highest  qualities  in  the  dramatic  presentment  of  the 
materials  of  his  History.  What  is  more  to  our  purpose, 
we  here  see  the  character  of  the  two  speakers  in  a 
moment  of  intensity,  when  the  depths  of  human  nature 
are  revealed  unconsciously. 

"  The  Quene,  in  a  vehement  fume,  began  to  cry 
out,  that  never  Prince  was  handled  as  she  was.  '  I 
have,'  said  sche,  'borne  with  you  in  all  your  rigorouse 
maner  of  speaking,  bayth  against  myself  and  against 
my  Uncles  ;  yea,  I  have  sought  your  favouris  by  all 
possible  meanes.  I  offerred  unto  you  presence  and 
audience  whensoever  it  pleassed  you  to  admonishe  me  ; 
and  yitt  I  can  nott  be  quyte  of  you.  I  avow  to  God  I 
shalbe  anes  revenged,'  and  with  these  wordis,  skarslie 
could  Marnock,^  hir  secreat  chalmerboy,  gett  neap- 
kynes  to  hold  hyr  eyes  drye  for  the  tearis  ;  and  the 
owling,  besydes  womanlie  weaping,  stayed  hir  speiche.^ 

1  "  Evidently,"  says  David  Laing,  "  the  same  person  with  Marna, 
whose  name  occurs  among  the  '  gentilhomes  servans'  in  the  'Menu  de 
la  Maison  de  la  Royne,  faict  par  Mons.  de  Pinguillon,'  1562." — Knox, 
Works ^  ii.  387,  note. 

2  It  was  Mary's  habitual  practice  to  burst  into  hysterical  tears,  when- 
ever she  was  crossed  in  conversation. 


KNOX  AND   THE  POLITICIANS  193 

"The  said  Johne  did  patientlie  abyde  all  the  first 
fume,  and  att  opportunitie  answered,  '  Trew  it  is, 
Madam,  your  Grace  and  I  have  bein  att  diverse 
controversies,  into  the  which  I  never  perceaved  your 
Grace  to  be  offended  at  me.  Butt  when  it  shall  please 
God  to  deliver  you  fra  that  bondage  of  darknes  and 
errour  in  the  which  ye  have  been  nurisshed  for  the 
lack  of  trew  doctrin,  your  Majestic  will  fynd  the  libertie 
of  my  toung  nothing  offensive.  Without  the  preaching 
place.  Madam,  I  think  few  have  occasioun  to  be  offendit 
at  me  ;  and  thair,  Madam,  I  am  nott  maister  of  myself, 
but  man  obey  Him  who  commandis  me  to  speik  plane, 
and  to  flatter  no  flesche  upoun  the  face  of  the  earth.' 

"'But  what  have  ye  to  do,'  said  sche,  'with  my 
marriage  ? ' 

"  '  Yf  it  pleise  your  Majestie,'  said  he,  '  patientlie  to 
hear  me,  I  shall  schaw  the  treuth  in  plane  wordis.  I 
grant  your  Grace  offered  unto  me  more  than  ever  I 
requyred  ;  but  my  answer  was  then,  as  it  is  now,  that 
God  hath  not  sent  me  to  await  upoun  the  courtes  of 
Princesses,  nor  upoun  the  chamberis  of  Ladyes  ;  but  I 
am  send  to  preache  the  Evangell  of  Jesus  Christ  to 
such  as  please  to  hear  it ;  and  it  hath  two  partes. 
Repentance  and  Fayth.  And  now.  Madam,  in  preach- 
ing reapentance,  of  necessitie  it  is  that  the  synnes  of 
men  be  so  noted,  that  thei  may  know  whairin  thei 
offend  ;  but  so  it  is,  that  the  most  parte  of  your  Nobilitie 
ar  so  addicted  to  your  affectionis  that  neather  God  his 
word  nor  yitt  thair  Commonwealth  ar  rychtlie  regarded. 
And,  thairfoir,  it  becomes  me  so  to  speak  that  thei  may 
know  thair  dewitie.' 

"'What  have  ye  to  do,'  said  sche,  'with  my 
mariage  ?  Or  what  ar  ye  within  this  Commoun- 
wealth  ? ' 

VOL.  II  13 


194  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

"*A  subject  borne  within  the  same,'  said  he, 
*  Madam ;  and,  albeit,  I  neather  be  Erie,  Lord,  nor 
Barroun  within  it,  yitt  hes  God  maid  me  {how  abject 
that  ever  I  be  in  your  eyis)  a  profitable  member  within 
the  same  ;  yea.  Madam,  to  me  it  apperteanes  no  lesse 
to  foirwarne  of  suche  thingis  as  may  hurte  it,  yf  I 
foirsee  thame,  then  it  does  to  any  of  the  Nobilitie  ;  for 
boyth  my  vocatioun  and  conscience  craves  playness  of 
me.  And,'thairfor,  Madam,  to  your  self  I  say  that 
whiche  I  speak  in  publict  place  ;  Whensoever  that  the 
Nobilitie  of  this  Realme  shall  consent  that  ye  be  subject 
to  ane  unfaythfull  husband,  thei  do  as  muche  as  in  thame 
lyeth  to  renunce  Christ,  to  banish  his  treuth  from  thame, 
to  betray  the  fredome  of  this  Realme,  and  perchance 
shall  in  the  end  do  small  conforte  to  your  self 

"At  these  words  owling^  was  heard,  and  tearis  mycht 
have  bene  sein  in  greattar  abundance  than  the  mater 
requyred.  Johne  Erskine  of  Dun,  a  man  of  meek  and 
gentill  spreit  stood  besyd,  and  entreated  what  he  could 
to  mitigat  hir  anger,  and  gave  unto  hir  many  pleasing 
wordis  of  hir  beautie,  of  hir  excellence,  and  how  that 
all  the  princes  of  Europe  wold  be  glaid  to  seik  hir 
favouris.  But  all  that  was  to  cast  oyle  in  the  flaming 
fyre.  The  said  Johne  stood  still  without  any  alteratioun 
of  countenance  for  a  long  seasson,  whill  that  the  Ouene 
gave  place  to  her  inordinat  passioun  ;  and  in  the  end 
he  said,  '  Madam,  in  Goddis  presence  I  speak  :  I  never 
delyted  in  the  weaping  of  any  of  Goddis  creaturis  ;  yea, 
I  can  skarslie  weill  abyd  the  tearis  of  my  awin  boyes 
whome  my  awin  hand  correctis,  much  less  can  I  rejoise 

1  As  used  by  Knox,  this  word  had  not  the  coarse  suggestion  it  has 
at'present. — Cf.  Macbeth,  Act  iv.  Scene  iii. : 

Each  new  morn 
New  widows  howl,  new  orphans  cry,  new  sorrows 
Strike  heaven  on  the  face. 


KNOX  AND   THE  POLITICIANS  195 

in  your  Majesties  weaping.  But  seing  that  I  have 
offered  unto  you  no  just  occasioun  to  be  offended,  but 
have  spocken  the  treuth,  as  my  vocatioun  craves  of  me, 
I  maun  sustean  (albeit  unwilHnglie)  your  Majesties 
tearis,  rather  then  I  dar  hurte  my  conscience,  or  betray 
my  Commounwealth  through  my  silence.'^ 

"  Heirwith  was  the  Ouene  more  offended,  and  com- 
manded the  said  Johne  to  pass  furth  of  the  cabinet, 
and  to  abyd  farther  of  hir  pleasur  in  the  chalmer. 
The  Laird  of  Dun  taryed,  and  Lord  Johne  of  Colding- 
hame  com  into  the  cabinet,  and  so  thei  boyth  remaned 
with  hyr  neyr  the  space  of  ane  houre.  The  said 
Johne  stood  in  the  chalmer,  as  one  whom  men  had 
never  sein  (so  war  all  effrayed)  except  that  the  Lord 
Ochiltrie  bayre  him  companye  :  and  thairfor  began  he 
to  forge  talking  of  the  ladyes  who  war  thair,  sitting  in 
all  thair  gorgiouse  apparell ;  whiche  espyed,  he  mearlie 
said,  '  O  fayre  Ladyes,  how  pleasing  war  this  lyeff  of 
youris,  yf  it  should  ever  abyd,  and  then  in  the  end  that 
we  myght  passe  to  heavin  with  all  this  gay  gear. 
But  fye  upoun  that  knave  Death,  that  will  come 
whitther  we  will  or  not !  And  when  he  hes  laid  on  his 
areist,  the  foull  wormes  wilbe  busye  with  this  flesche,  be 
it  never  so  fayr  and  so  tender  ;  and  the  seally  sowll,  I 
fear,  shalbe  so  feable  that  it  can  neather  cary  with  it  gold, 
garnassing,  targatting,  pearle,  nor  pretious  stanes.' " 

What  impression  do  these  various  interviews  of 
Knox  and  Mary  leave  as  to  the  respective  traits  of 
their  mind  and  temper  ?  From  the  foregoing  narrative 
it  will  have  appeared  that  one  current  opinion  has  little 
to  support  it.  Considering  the  actual  relations  of  the 
two  parties,  it  is  absurd  to  speak  of  Knox  as  a  coarse 
man  of  the  people  bullying  a  defenceless  queen.     The 

^    Wo7'ks,  ii.  387  et  seq. 


196  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

truth  is,  that  if  there  was  any  attempt  at  browbeating 
it   was  on   Mary's  part,   and    not   on    that   of   Knox.  , 
When  she  summoned  him  to  her  presence,  it  was  with 
the  express  purpose  of  imposing  silence  on   him  by 
force  of  her  own  will  and  the  opinion  of  the  Court. 
As  she  arranged  their  interviews,  Knox  had  nothing 
to  fall  back  upon  but  his  native  force  of  character,  and 
the  intensity  of  his  conviction.     It  was  amid  the  frowns 
and  sneers  of  Catholic  and   Protestant  alike  that  he 
held  his  own  with  the  mistress  whom  they  were  all 
equally  disposed  to  humour  even  at  the  cost  of  their 
convictions.      In  truth,  the  most  pertinent  question  re- 
garding these  interviews  is,  Why  did  they  take  place  at 
all  '^     One  meeting,  at  least,  might  have  satisfied  Mary 
that  Knox  was  not  the  man  to  be  browbeaten  from 
what  he  believed  to  be  his  plain  duty.     As  she  could 
make    no    concessions    that    would    conciliate   him,   it 
would  have  been  the  part  of  prudence  to  avoid  scenes 
that  could  only  compromise  her  dignity,  and  result  in 
increased  irritation.      In  seeking  these  repeated  inter- 
views,   therefore,    we    believe    that    Mary   gave   but 
another  proof  of  that  lack  of  self-control    and    self- 
respect   which    was    her    most    serious    defect    as    a 
woman  and  a  Queen.      In  reading  Knox's  report  of  his 
own  speech  and  bearing,  it  is  to  be  remembered  that  to 
judge  him  fairly  we  must  apply  the  standard  of  his  own 
age.     Forgetting  this,  we  might  easily  infer  that  Mary 
herself,   from   certain   of  her   reported   speeches,  was 
essentially  a  coarse-minded  woman.     As  we  now  think, 
Knox  might  have  said  what  he   had   to  say  in  more 
courtly  fashion  ;  yet  in  the  essentials  of  all  his  dealings 
with  Mary  he  but  acted  as  practical  men  have  found 
it  necessary  to  act  in  all  ages  of  the  world.      It  would 
be  difficult  to  name  two  men   more  curiously  unlike 


KNOX  AND   THE  POLITICIANS  197 

than  Knox  and  Lamartine ;  yet  Lamartine,  poet  and 
sentimentalist,  is  here  at  one  with  the  austere  Reformer 
of  the  sixteenth  century.  When  the  Duchess  of 
Orleans  put  herself  in  the  way  of  a  policy  he  believed 
to  be  in  the  interests  of  the  country,  with  all  the 
sternness  of  Knox,  he  hardened  his  heart  against  her 
tears  and  her  misfortunes.^ 

In  the  autumn  of  1563  Knox  took  a  step  that 
seemed  likely  to  put  him  at  last  in  the  Queen's  power, 
and  seriously  to  weaken  his  authority  in  the  country. 
During  the  summer  Mary  had  made  a  progress  in  the 
West,  and,  carrying  the  mass  into  this  stronghold  of 
the  reformed  religion,  "had  dejected  the  hearts  of 
many."  When  the  report  of  this  reached  Knox,  he 
was  so  moved  that  he  composed  a  special  prayer  which 
he  thenceforth  regularly  used  in  his  household.^  Under 
his  own  eyes,  also,  the  rites  of  the  old  religion  were 
celebrated  more  publicly  than  ever  they  had  been  be- 
fore. As  the  arrangements  between  the  two  relio^ions 
stood,  it  was  only  in  the  Queen's  presence  that  mass 
could  be  said  within  the  bounds  of  Scotland.  During 
the  Oueen's  absence,  however,  this  understanding  had 
been  systematically  disregarded  by  the  Catholics  in 
Holyrood.     As  this  was  not  to  be  borne,  certain  of  the 

1  Lamartine,  History  of  the  French  Revolution  of  1848  (Bohn's 
translation),  pp.  11 6-1 18.  George  Herbert,  also,  a  spirit  as  far  re- 
moved from  Lamartine  as  from  Knox,  describing  his  "  Constant  Man," 
says  of  him  that  he  is  one 

Who,  when  he  is  to  treat 

With  sick  folks,  women,  those  whom  passions  sway, 

Allows  for  that,  and  keeps  his  constant  way. 

2  The  significant  clause  in  this  prayer  was  as  follows  :  "  Continewus 
in  cjuyetnesse  and  concord  amangis  our  selfis,  yf  thy  good  pleasur  be,  O 
Lord,  for  a  seassone."  When  asked  his  reason  for  this  conditional 
petition  his  answer  was,  "  that  he  durst  nott  pray  but  in  fayth  ;  and  faith 
in  Goddis  word  assured  him  that  constant  quietness  could  not  continew 
in  that  Realme,  whair  Idolatrie  had  bene  suppressed,  and  then  was 
permitted  to  be  erected  agane." — Works,  ii.  391. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 


leading  Protestant  burghers  were  deputed  to  present 
themselves  in  the  chapel  and  ascertain  the  names  of 
those  who  appeared  at  the  service.  The  sight  of  the 
idolatrous  exhibition  was  too  much  for  the  zeal  of  the 
visitors,  and  one  of  them,  Patrick  Cranston,  protested 
aloud  against  the  manifest  breach  of  the  law.  Accord- 
ing to  Knox's  account  this  was  the  end  of  the  matter 
as  far  as  the  deputies  of  the  Congregation  were  con- 
cerned. However  this  may  be,  the  affair  was  duly- 
reported  to  the  Queen,  who  immediately  took  steps  to 
have  the  offenders  brought  to  punishment.  Two  of 
the  most  active  of  the  Protestant  deputies,  Patrick 
Cranston  and  Andrew  Armstrong,  were  cited  "  to 
underlie  the  law  "  on  the  24th  October  on  the  charge 
of  violently  invading  the  Queen's  palace. 

But  if  these  two  brethren  should  suffer  for  their 
zeal,  Knox  felt  that  the  cause  of  Protestantism  was 
lost.  With  the  consent  of  the  faithful  in  Edinburgh, 
therefore,  though  probably  on  his  own  initiative,  he 
addressed  a  circular  letter  to  the  Protestants  through- 
out the  country,  urging  them  for  the  safety  of  their 
religion  to  appear  in  Edinburgh  at  the  date  of  the 
approaching  trial.  Knox  was  fully  aware  of  the  bold- 
ness of  this  step  ;  but,  as  we  shall  see,  he  had  carefully 
reckoned  the  chances  of  its  success.  The  letter  falling 
into  the  hands  of  Mary,  however,  she  was  quick  to 
conclude  that  she  had  at  last  caught  her  adversary  in 
a  net.  In  thus  summoning  her  lieges  on  his  own 
responsibility  she  held  that  he  had  been  guilty  of 
treason,  and  should  be  made  to  abide  the  law.  The 
Privy  Council  found  the  charge  relevant,  and  decided 
that  Knox  should  be  called  to  answer  for  his  action. 
But,  as  Knox  doubtless  foresaw,  the  majority  of  the 
Council  found  themselves  in  an  embarrassing  dilemma. 


KNOX  AND   THE  POLITICIANS  199 

from  which  there  was,  in  truth,  but  one  way  of  escape. 
Before  the  day  of  trial  both  Moray  and  Maitland  made 
a  strenuous  effort  to  wring  from  him  an  admission  of 
guilt.  But  there  was  a  double  reason  why  Knox 
should  abide  by  his  action.  By  admitting  a  breach  of 
law  he  would  have  compromised  the  claim  of  the 
Church  to  assemble  its  members  independent  of  the 
State.  Knowing  also  the  real  mind  of  the  Council, 
he  could  with  some  confidence  reckon  on  an  issue  of 
the  trial,  which  might  result  in  a  triumph  for  the  cause 
which  he  represented.^ 

The  trial  took  place  on  the  21st  of  December, 
between  six  and  seven  at  night.  A  crowd  of  Knox's 
supporters  waited  eagerly  without  to  learn  the  fate  of 
their  grreat  leader.  The  members  of  the  Council 
having  taken  their  places,  the  Queen  entered  "  with 
no  littill  warldlie  pomp,"  and  took  her  place  between 
Maitland  and  the  Master  of  Maxwell.  "  But,"  adds 
Knox,  in  his  account  of  the  scene  ;  "  hir  pomp  lackit 
one  principall  point,  to  wit,  womanlie  gravitie  ;  for 
when  sche  saw  John  Knox  standing  at  the  uther  end 
of  the  tabill  bair-heided,  sche  first  smyleit,  and  efter 
gaif  ane  gawf  lauchter.  Ouhairat  quhen  hir  placeboes 
gaif  thair  plaudite,  affirming  with  lyke  countenance, 
'  This  is  ane  gude  begyning,'  sche  said,  *  But  wat  ye 
whairat  I  lauch  ?  Yon  man  gart  me  greit,  and  grat 
never  teir  him  self:  I  will  see  gif  I  can  gar  him 
o-reit. 

Called  on  to  read  the  incriminating  letter,  Knox 
acknowledged  himself  to  be  its  sole  author.  Two 
main  charges  were  based  on  its  contents.  As  a 
summons  to  the  Queen's  lieges,  it  implied  a  treasonable 
act  on  the  part  of  the  writer ;  and  in  one  of  its  ex- 

1    Works ^  ii.  393  et  seq.  ^  Ibid.  p.  404. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 


pressions,  the  Queen  urged,  she  was  herself  accused  of 
personal  cruelty.  On  the  first  charge,  Knox  could 
have  little  difficulty  in  setting  himself  right  with  the 
majority  of  the  Council.  In  calling  the  Congregation 
together  for  self-defence,  he  had  only  followed  their 
own  example  in  the  days  before  the  coming  of  the 
Queen.  Maitland  might  urge  that  then  was  then,  and 
now  was  now,  but  the  Council  well  knew  that  if  Knox 
were  judged  guilty,  a  precedent  would  be  set  which 
might  one  day  be  turned  against  themselves.  On  the 
other  charge,  Knox  could  equally  count  on  the  interests 
and  private  convictions  of  the  judges.  The  Queen 
accused  him  of  charging  her  with  personal  cruelty  ;  but 
the  expression  implied  only  that  Papists  naturallysought 
the  harm  of  Protestants.^  When  he  appealed  to  his 
audience  as  to  whether  this  was  true,  the  majority, 
in  view  of  their  professed  opinions,  could  give  but  one 
answer.  By  the  unanimous  vote  of  the  Council,  there- 
fore, Knox  was  acquitted  of  both  charges,  and,  to  the 
mortification  of  Mary,  was  dismissed  without  a  rebuke. 
It  had  been  her  hope,  on  the  ground  of  a  purely  secular 
offence,  to  compass  Knox's  fall  by  the  help  of  the  men 
who  held  his  own  creed ;  but  with  real  dexterity  Knox 
had  turned  his  trial  into  a  question  between  the  two 
religions,  and  carried  his  lukewarm  friends  along  with 
him.  Four  days  later,  it  may  be  added,  Knox  received 
the  full  approval  of  the  General  Assembly  for  his 
conduct  in  issuing  the  offending  letter." 

Another  proceeding  of  Knox,  according  to  Randolph, 
seems  to  have  specially  exasperated  Mary.     On  Palm- 

^  The  sentence  is  as  follows  :  "  Thir  feirfuU  summondis  is  direct 
aganis  thame  (to  wit,  the  bretherin  foirsaid),  to  make,  no  doubt,  pre- 
paratioun  upoun  ane  few  that  ane  dore  may  be  opened  till  execute 
creweltie  upoun  ane  grytter  multitude." — IVor^s,  ii.  407. 

2  Ih'd.  p.  4 1  5 . 


KNOX  AND   THE  POLITICIANS 


Sunday  of  1564  Knox  was  married  to  Margaret 
Stewart,  daughter  of  Andrew,  Lord  Stewart  of  Ochil- 
tree, and  thus  distantly  connected  with  the  royal  house. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  Ochiltree  was  a  person  of  little 
standing  or  consequence  ;  ^  and  in  public  estimation 
there  was  no  disparity  between  an  inconsiderable  Scot- 
tish baron  and  the  great  religious  leader  who  spoke  on 
equal  terms  with  the  first  men  in  the  country.  What 
is  singular  is  that  Knox  should  have  married  as  he  did, 
and  married  at  all.  He  was  a  widower  with  two 
young  children  ;  but  his  mother-in-law  was  now  under 
his  roof,  and  does  not  seem  to  have  been  too  old  to 
take,  in  some  measure,  the  place  of  her  daughter. 
What  accentuated  the  freak  was  that  Knox  was  now 
in  his  fifty- ninth  year,  and  the  wife  he  chose  was  not 
over  sixteen. 2  The  whole  business  of  marrying  and 
giving  in  marriage  was  then  carried  out  in  a  fashion 
that  is  apt  to  revolt  the  better  feeling  of  the  present  day. 
In  the  case  of  certain  of  the  finest  spirits  of  the  six- 
teenth century  we  experience  a  shock  at  what  seems  the 
brutality  of  their  relations  to  their  wives.  Sir  Thohias 
More,  the  most  delicate  nature  of  his  time,  married  his 
second  wife  within  a  month  of  the  death  of  his  first.^ 
From  the  histories  of  the  leading  Reformers  we  learn 
that  the  choice  of  a  partner  in  life  was  as  often  as  not 
entrusted  to  a  judicious  circle  of  friends,  who  did  at 
once  the  part  of  the  lawyer  and  the  lover  in  bringing 
about  the  desired  arrangement.  "It  is  the  will  of 
God,"  exclaimed   Melanchthon,  when  the  good  office 

^  As  we  learn  from  Knox's  last  will  and  testament,  Lord  Ochiltree 
had  to  borrow  money  from  his  son-in-law. 

-  It  is  Randolph's  statement  that  she  was  "not  above  xvi  yearis  of 
age."  —  Randolph  to  Cecil,  xxii  Januarie  1563.  The  delay  of  the 
marriage  for  a  year  may  have  been  due  to  this  fact. 

3  This  appears  from  a  letter  published  by  Mr.  Gairdner  in  the 
Ens:lish  Historical  Review  for  October  1892. 


202  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

was  done  for  himself,  "  I  must  give  up  my  studies 
which  made  my  happiness."  This  general  attitude 
towards  marriage  should  doubtless  be  before  us  in 
judging  this  singular  step  of  Knox's  old  age  ;  but,  as 
it  happens,  we  have  the  judgment  of  Calvin  himself  on 
a  similar  marriage  made  by  his  friend  and  brother- 
reformer,  William  Farel.  Farel,  it  should  be  said, 
more  than  any  other  of  the  great  Protestant  leaders, 
reminds  us  of  Knox,  both  by  his  personal  character  and 
the  nature  of  the  work  he  performed  in  Geneva.  At 
the  age  of  sixty -nine,  ten  years  older  than  Knox, 
therefore,  Farel  married  a  girl  under  sixteen  ;  and  his 
brother  ministers  at  Neuchatel  consulted  Calvin  as  to 
what  steps  should  be  taken  to  put  the  Church  right  in 
the  eyes  of  the  world.  How  Calvin  regarded  the 
conduct  of  Farel  may  be  gathered  from  the  opening 
sentences  of  his  reply.  "  Dearest  brethren,"  he  writes, 
"  I  am  in  such  perplexity  that  I  know  not  where  to 
make  a  beginning.  Certain  it  is  that  our  poor  brother. 
Master  William,  has  for  once  been  so  ill-advised  that 
we  must  all  needs  be  in  shame  and  confusion  on  his 
account."^ 

Each  General  Assembly,  as  has  appeared,  only 
intensified  the  antagonism  between  the  Protestant 
Lords  and  the  Congregation.  At  the  June  gathering 
of  1564,  however,  the  misunderstanding  reached  its 
height.  On  the  first  day  of  meeting,  the  "  Courtiers" 
deliberately  remained  at  home, — their  evident  purpose 
being  to  effect  a  division  among  the  ministers  them- 
selves. On  a  representation  being  made  by  the 
Assembly,  the  Lords  made  their  appearance  the  next 
day,  but,  as  on  the  former  occasion,  retired  to  a 
separate  room,  whence  they  sent  a  request  that   the 

1   Corpus  Rcformafonun,  xlv.  335,  351. 


KNOX  AND   THE  POLITICIANS  203 

superintendents  and  certain  of  the  leading  ministers 
would  meet  them  in  conference.  The  Assembly  per- 
fectly understood  the  drift  of  the  message,  but  offered 
to  send  representatives  on  the  condition  that  all 
matters  discussed  should  be  eventually  referred  to  the 
Assembly  itself.  This  condition  being  accepted,  ten 
of  the  leading  ministers  appeared  before  the  Lords, 
Knox,  by  special  request,  being  added  as  the 
eleventh. 

The  conflict  really  lay  between  the  Court  and 
Knox,  as  the  soul  of  his  party  ;  and  on  this  occasion 
as  usual  the  discussion  seems  to  have  been  left  almost 
entirely  in  the  hands  of  Maitland  and  Knox.  The 
subjects  on  which  their  controversy  ran  are  sufficiently 
familiar  to  us  from  the  preceding  pages,  yet  the  meet- 
ing itself,  so  curiously  characteristic  of  the  age, 
deserves  a  passing  mention.  On  the  one  hand  a 
few  Protestant  ministers,  on  the  other  all  the  leading 
men  in  the  Queen's  Council,  solemnly  discussed  a 
clause  in  the  prayer  of  a  popular  preacher  as  a  ques- 
tion on  which  the  destinies  of  the  nation  might  depend. 
Of  late  Knox  had  all  but  abandoned  his  originally  faint 
hope  of  Mary's  eventual  salvation,  and  in  his  public 
prayer  for  her  welfare  restricted  himself  to  the 
equivocal  petition, — "  Illuminat  hir  hairt,  gif  thy  gude 
plesour  be."^  In  the  view  of  Maitland  and  those  for 
whom  he  spoke,  such  a  form  of  prayer  conveyed  an 
impression  that  the  Queen's  salvation  was  past  praying 
for.  But,  as  we  have  seen,  Mary's  conversion  was 
precisely  the  issue  which  the  Protestant  Lords  desired, 
and  which  by  their  present  policy  they  hoped  one  day 
to  ensure.  It  was  at  once  as  a  statesman  and  a 
theologian,  therefore,  that  Maitland  so  keenly  discussed 

^    Works,  ii.  428. 


204  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

with  Knox  the  scriptural  authority  for  such  conditional 
prayers  for  the  salvation  of  any  fellow-creature.  Two 
other  charges  brought  against  Knox  prolonged  the 
debate  till  Maitland  was  fain  to  plead  fatigue  in  this 
encounter  of  wits  with  his  unweariable  opponent.  Did 
the  Bible  justify  such  language  as  Knox  used  of  the 
Queen's  personal  character,  and  did  it  inculcate  such 
principles  as  he  laid  down  as  to  the  relations  of  ruler 
and  subject.'^  In  thirty-six  pages  of  his  History  Knox 
reports  the  conversation  that  took  place  on  these  points  ; 
and  it  is  certain  that  neither  Moray  nor  Maitland  would 
have  thought  that  he  exaggerated  its  importance. 

Meanwhile  the  policy  of  the  Protestant  Lords  was 
steadily  tending  towards  the  result  that  Knox  had  so 
confidently  predicted.  It  was  now  nearly  three  years 
since  Mary's  return,  and  Elizabeth,  in  spite  of  threats 
and  promises,  had  not  yet  agreed  to  name  her  as  her 
successor  to  the  Enp-lish  throne.  In  their  straits 
Moray  and  Maitland  took  a  line  of  conduct  which 
could  only  have  been  diplomatic  play,  but  which  filled 
Knox  with  inconceivable  alarm.  To  bring  Elizabeth 
to  reason  they  made  overtures  to  Philip  II.  for  a 
marriage  between  his  son  Don  Carlos  and  Mary.^ 
For  England  this  marriage  would  have  been  the  most 
disastrous  event  that  could  happen  in  the  position  in 

1  These  negotiations  were  carried  on  during  the  spring  and  summer 
of  I  563.  In  a  mission  to  England  and  France  Maitland  secretly  pressed 
them.  The  secretary  of  De  Quadra  even  came  to  Scotland  and  had  a 
secret  interview  with  Moray  and  Maitland  on  the  same  business 
(Mignet,  Marie  Stuart^  ii.  Appendix  C).  But  it  is  hardly  possible  that 
Maitland,  and  still  less  Moray,  could  have  seriously  contemplated  such 
an  alliance.  In  a  letter  of  Kirkcaldy  of  Grange  to  Randolph,  there  is  a 
sentence  which  almost  certainly  explains  the  real  intentions  of  both. 
"  Morower,  the  Quene  Mother  hathe  writtin  to  our  Quene  that  Lid 
[dington]  said  to  hir,  that  all  that  was  spoken  of  the  mariage  with 
Spaine,  was  done  to  caus  England  grant  to  our  desyris."  This  letter  is 
printed  in  Laing's  Kjiox,  vi.  539,  540. 


KNOX  AND  THE  POLITICIANS  205 

which  she  now  found  herself;  and  the  very  thought  of 
it  was  sufficient  to  make  Ehzabeth  and  her  ministers 
reconsider  all  their  political  relations.  At  length,  in 
March  1564,  the  exigencies  of  her  position  drove 
Elizabeth  to  take  one  step  towards  satisfying  the 
Scottish  Queen  and  her  advisers.  By  her  order 
Randolph  suggested  Lord  Robert  Dudley  as  a  suit- 
able match  for  Mary.^  As  a  safe  arrangement  both 
for  England  and  Scotland  this  marriage  had  much  to 
recommend  it.  Dudley  was  a  Protestant,  and  would 
have  been  acceptable  to  the  parties  both  of  Moray  and 
Knox."  The  match  would  thus  have  strengthened  the 
hands  of  Protestants  in  Scotland  ;  and  the  Catholics  of 
England,  who  were  a  standing  menace  to  the  existing 
government,  would  have  been  deprived  of  all  incen- 
tives to  active  measures.  Yet  whether  from  her  own 
weakness  for  Dudley,  or  from  her  nervous  dread  of 
designating  a  successor,^  Elizabeth  made  no  serious 
effort  to  bring  the  union  about. 

Seeing  no  fruit  of  their  action,  Mary  grew  impatient 
of  her  Protestant  advisers,  and  in  the  year  1564  she 
passed  under  new  influences  which  eventually  involved 
her  ruin.  Acting  on  other  counsels  than  those  of 
Moray  and  Maitland,  she  turned  her  thoughts  to  her 
cousin  Darnley  as  the  most  suitable  helpmate  for  all 
the  ends  she  had  at  heart.  As  to  what  these  ends 
were  there  can  be  no  uncertainty  :  to  unite  the  two 
crowns,  to  restore  the  old  religion,  to  be  in  her  realms 
what  the  French  and  Spanish  monarchs  were  in  theirs 
— were  objects  which  by  temper  and  upbringing  she 

^   Keith,  ii.  224. 

2   Knox  was  a  correspondent  of  Dudley. — Cf.   Works,  vi.  530. 

2  Even  the  Spanish  ambassador  De  Quadra  admitted  that  Elizabeth 
had  reason  to  fear  the  result  of  publicly  recognising  Mary  as  her  suc- 
cessor.— Philippson,  ii.   154. 


2o6  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

naturally  desired  to  compass.  To  everybody  it  was 
apparent  that  her  union  with  Darnley  was  admirably 
fitted  to  further  these  ends.  After  herself  he  had  the 
best  claim  to  the  English  crown,  and  as  of  her  own 
religion  he  had  the  support  of  all  the  English  Catholics. 
In  Scotland  his  religion  was  a  disadvantage;  but,  as 
events  showed,  not  so  serious  as  might  have  been 
anticipated.  As  Elizabeth  still  put  her  off,  Mary  had 
good  reasons  for  taking  a  line  of  her  own.  First,  the 
Earl  of  Lennox,  and,  a  few  months  later  (February 
1565),  Darnley,  were  brought  to  Scotland  and  rein- 
stated in  the  family  honours  which  had  been  forfeited 
twenty  years  before.  Between  Mary  and  her  brother, 
the  Earl  of  Moray,  there  ensued  an  open  breach,  and 
Maitland  was  quietly  set  aside  for  other  advisers. 
Chief  among  these  was  David  Rizzio,  whose  sinister 
influence  over  the  young  Queen  grew  every  day  till 
his  presence  became  intolerable.  Under  these  new 
counsels,  and  borne  along  by  her  own  passion  and 
ambition,  Mary  publicly^  celebrated  her  marriage  with 
Darnley  on  the  29th  of  July  1565.  For  Moray  this 
marriage  implied  the  end  of  all  his  striving  since  the 
day  when  he  threw  in  his  lot  with  the  Congregation. 
It  foreclosed  the  English  alliance,  since  Elizabeth  was 
both  indignant  and  alarmed  at  a  union  which  had  been 
carried  out  in  her  despite,  and  whose  significance  she 
saw  every  day  more  clearly.  There  was  also  an  end 
to  all  hope  of  completing  that  reform  in  religion  which 
at  one  time  it  had  seemed  as  if  Mary  herself  would  be 
constrained  to  accept  in  her  own  interest  and  that  of 
the  country.     To  share  her  government,  as  she  was 

1  She  had  already  been  privately  married  to  Darnley  in  Rizzio's 
chamber  between  the  7th  and  loth  of  April  (Philippson,  ii.  337,  338) 
— a  singular  proof  of  the  headstrong  impulsiveness  of  her  nature. 


KNOX  AND   THE  POLITICIANS  207 

now  disposed,  had  for  Moray  become  impossible. 
Even  had  he  acquiesced  in  the  new  policy,  his  life 
would  not  have  been  safe  a  day  with  Rizzio  and 
Darnley  in  the  position  they  had  attained.^  In  his 
extremity  there  were  but  two  sources  where  he  was 
likely  to  find  the  support  he  needed, — the  English 
Court  and  the  Protestant  barons  and  gentlemen  who 
were  devoted  to  Knox.  But  it  was  now  brousht 
home  to  him  that  his  policy  of  the  last  four  years  had 
been  built  on  sand.  So  precarious  was  Elizabeth's 
own  position  that  she  could  give  him  no  open  counte- 
nance while  he  was  only  a  rebel  against  his  sovereign. 
As  for  the  most  earnest  section  of  the  Protestants,  he 
had  done  so  little  to  conciliate  them,  that  they  felt  no 
confidence  that  his  restoration  to  authority  would 
greatly  benefit  their  cause.  When  he  now  appealed 
to  them  in  the  interest  of  their  religion,  there  was  no 
such  response  as  in  the  days  of  Mary  of  Lorraine. 
In  less  than  three  months  after  her  marriage  Mary 
had  beaten  him  at  all  points,  and  triumphantly  driven 
him  and  his  associates  across  the  border  to  be  further 
humiliated  by  a  chilling  reception  at  the  English 
Court. 

In  this  ruin  of  the  Protestant  politicians  Knox 
must  have  had  the  grim  satisfaction  of  seeing  the 
fulfilment  of  his  endless  prophesying.  These  youths, 
who   had   first  sat   at   his   feet  and   then   scorned  his 

1  "  How  long  the  kindness  will  stand  between  my  Lord  of  Moray 
and  Lord  of  Lenox,  your  Honour  may  judge  of  by  this,  that  my  Lord  of 
Lenox  hath  join'd  himself  with  those  whom  my  Lord  of  Moray  thinketh 
worst  of  in  Scotland  ;  what  opinion  the  young  Lord  hath  conceived  of 
him,  that  lately  talking  with  Lord  Robert  [Stewart],  who  shewed  him 
in  the  Scottish  map  what  lands  my  Lord  of  Moray  had,  and  in  what 
bounds,  the  Lord  Darnly  said  that  it  was  too  much.  This  came  to  my 
Lord  of  Moray's  ears,  and  so  to  the  Queen,  who  advised  my  Lord 
Darnly  to  excuse  himself  to  my  Lord  of  Moray." — Randolph  to  Cecil, 
20th  March  1565  ;   Keith,  ii.  274,  275. 


2o8  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

counsels,  had  been  taught  who  was  the  true  inter- 
preter of  God's  ways  with  His  people.  But  if  this 
feeling  touched  him,  it  was  lost  in  the  gloom  of  the 
new  situation.  As  far  as  eye  could  see,  the  cause 
of  true  religion  seemed  at  length  to  be  fatally  wrecked. 
Its  most  powerful  friends  were  in  exile,  two  papist 
sovereigns  sat  on  the  throne,  and  papists  ruled  all 
their  councils.  Knox,  who  knew  everything,  was 
well  aware  of  Mary's  correspondence  with  Rome,^ 
though  she  openly  professed  the  most  friendly  dis- 
position towards  his  own  party.  One  notable  oppor- 
tunity came  to  him  of  bearing  his  testimony  in  this 
new  and  terrible  probation.  The  Protestants  were  still 
too  strong  a  body  to  be  set  at  naught,  and  the  two 
sovereigns  were  constrained  to  make  a  show  of  good- 
will which  was  not  likely  to  blind  such  a  man  as  Knox. 
As  a  part  of  this  policy,  Darnley,  though  known  to 
be  a  Catholic,  appeared  at  a  service  in  the  Church 
of  St.  Giles  on  Sunday  the  19th  of  August.  His 
experience  did  not  encourage  him  to  repeat  the  visit. 
The  service  lasted  more  than  an  hour  longer  than  he 
had  bargained  for ;  and  Knox  in  his  sermon  made 
references  to  Ahab  and  Jezebel,  the  point  of  which 
could  not  easily  be  missed.  The  king,  we  are  told, 
"  was  so  moved  at  this  Sermon,  that  he  would  not 
dine ;  and  being  troubled,  with  great  fury  he  past 
in  the  afternoon  to  the  hawking."^  But  Knox,  on 
his  part,  learned  that  times  were  now  changed.      That 

^  See  Labanoff,  Lettres  de  Marie  Stuart^  i.  pp.  177,  179,  355,  369. 
In  these  letters  Knox  has  his  complete  justification  in  maintaining 
against  Moray  and  Maitland  that,  since  her  return,  Mary  had  never 
ceased  to  work  for  the  restoration  of  the  old  religion  in  Scotland. 

2  Works^  ii.  497.  The  following  reference  to  this  affair  occurs  in 
X\\&  Ditirftal  of  Occitrrefits.  "  Upoun  the  xix  day  of  August  the  King 
came  to  Sanctgellis  Kirk,  and  Johne  Knox  preachit  ;  quhairat  he  was 
crabbit,  and  causit  discharge  the  said  Johne  of  his  preitching." 


KNOX  AND   THE  POLITICIANS  209 

very  evening  he  was  summoned  from  his  bed  by  the 
Privy  Council  to  defend  the  words  which  had  made 
Darnley  so  uncomfortable.  Knox  was  attended  by  a 
large  following  of  prominent  citizens ;  but  the  Council 
was  no  longer  what  it  had  been  when  he  last  appeared 
before  It ;  and  he  was  summarily  ordered  to  abstain 
from  preaching  so  long  as  the  King  and  Queen  should 
remain  in  the  town.  The  Town  Council  strongly 
protested  against  the  silencing  of  their  minister/  but 
apparently  without  success. 

Though  the  outlook  was  thus  so  desperate,  Knox 
bated  not  a  jot  of  hope  that  all  would  yet  be  well. 
No  one  saw  more  clearly  that  for  the  moment  all  the 
advantage  was  with  the  enemy.  In  his  sermon  before 
Darnley  he  declared  that  "  he  that  seeth  not  a  her 
begonne,  that  shal  burne  more  than  we  loke  for, 
unlesse  God  of  his  mercie  quenche  it,  is  more  than 
blinde.""  But,  as  was  his  unfailing  habit,  he  closed 
with  words  of  hope  for  the  "  little  and  despised  flocke." 
For  our  own  negligence,  he  told  his  hearers,  "God 
gave  us  over  in  the  handis  of  other  than  suche  as 
rule  in  his  feare,  that  yet  he  let  us  not  forget  his 
mercy,  and  that  glorious  Name  that  hath  bene  pro- 
claymed  amongst  us  ;  but  that  we  may  loke  through- 
out the  dolorous  storme  of  his  present  displeasure, 
and  see  aswell  what  punishment  he  hath  appointed 
for  the  cruell  tirants,  as  what  reward  he  hath  laid  in 
store  for  such  as  continue  in  his  feare  to  the  ende."  ^ 

1  Council  Register,  23rd  August  1565. 

2  JVorks,  vi.  245. 

•^  Il>id.  pp.  272,  273.  This  is  the  only  sermon  of  Knox  that  was  ever 
printed  by  his  own  authority.  In  a  short  introduction  giving  his  reasons 
for  its  pubhcation,  there  occurs  perhaps  the  most  extraordinary  passage 
in  all  his  writings.  "Wonder  not,  Christian  reader,  that  of  al  my  studye 
and  travayle  within  the  Scriptures  of  God  these  twentye  yeares,  I  have 
set  forth  nothing  in  exponing  anye  portion  of  Scripture,  except  this  onelye 
VOL.  II  14 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 


The  cause  of  Knox,  as  we  shall  see,  did  in  the  end 
prevail,  though  after  a  succession  of  events  which 
terribly  revealed  the  division  of  heart  and  mind  which 
the  breach  with  its  ancient  religion  had  wrought  in 
the  Scottish  people. 

rude  and  indigest  Sermon  preached  by  me  in  the  pubHcke  audience  of 
the  Churche  of  Edinbrough,  the  day  and  yeare  above  mencioned.  That 
I  did  not  in  writ  communicat  my  judgement  upon  the  Scriptures,  I  have 
ever  thought  and  yet  thinke  my  selfe  to  have  most  just  reason.  For 
considering  my  selfe  rather  cald  of  my  God  to  instruct  the  ignorant, 
comfort  the  sorrowfull,  confirme  the  weake,  and  rebuke  the  proud,  by 
tong  and  livelye  voyce  in  these  most  corrupt  dayes,  then  to  compose 
bokes  for  the  age  to  come,  seeing  that  so  much  is  written  (and  that  by 
men  of  most  singular  condition),  and  yet  so  little  well  observed ;  I 
decreed  to  containe  my  selfe  within  the  bondes  of  that  vocation,  wher- 
unto  I  found  my  selfe  especially  called.  I  dare  not  denie  (lest  in  so 
doing  I  should  be  injurious  to  the  giver),  but  that  God  hath  revealed 
unto  me  secretes  unknowne  to  the  worlde  ;  and  also  that  he  made  my 
tong  a  trumpet  to  forwarne  realmes  and  nations,  yea,  certaine  great 
personages,  of  translations  and  chaunges,"  etc. 


'D'  213 


CHAPTER    II 

HISTORIE    OF    THE    REFORMATION    IN    SCOTLAND 


Besides  his  strivings  with  the  Queen  and  the  tempor- 
ising Protestants,  Knox  had  all  these  years  been 
engaged  in  a  task  the  importance  of  which  can  hardly 
be  exaggerated  in  any  estimate  of  his  life  and  work. 
It  will  be  remembered  that  at  the  instance  of  the 
Lords  of  the  Congregation  he  had  undertaken  to  set 
forth  their  doings  from  the  commencement  of  their 
contest  with  Mary  of  Lorraine  till  the  return  of  her 
daughter  in  August  1561.  As  originally  conceived, 
the  work  was  simply  to  be  a  defence  and  justification 
of  the  actors  in  that  revolution.  But  the  work  had 
grown  upon  his  hands,  and  before  he  had  done  with 
it,  it  had  attained  a  scope  that  fully  justifies  the  title  by 
which  it  is  known — The  History  of  the  Reformation 
in  Scotland. 

Had  Knox  not  written  this  book,  it  may  be  safely 
said  that  he  would  not  have  been  the  figure  he  is  in 
Scottish  history.  For  our  impression  of  him  we 
should  have  been  confined  to  the  notices  of  con- 
temporary historians  and  the  casual  references  in  a 
few  State  Papers.  But  the  Scottish  writers  con- 
temporary with  him  had  no  adequate  sense  of  the 
great  events  in  which  they  were  spectators  or  actors. 
Even   to   those  on   his  own   side,    Knox  was   but   an 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 


eloquent  preacher,  who  along  with  his  fellow-ministers 
had  done  good  service  in  lending  his  hands  to  the 
overthrow  of  the  strongholds  of  Satan.  In  Buchanan's 
History  his  name  occurs  only  four  times,  the  reference 
in  each  case  being  of  the  most  casual  kind.  Sir  James 
Melville,  also  a  Protestant,  evidently  considered  him- 
self a  much  more  important  person  than  any  preacher 
in  the  country.  To  the  Catholic  bishop,  Leslie, 
Knox  was  a  pestilent  fellow,  risen  from  the  dregs  of 
the  people  to  be  a  plague  to  society  and  all  good 
Christians.^  By  Beza,  indeed,  Knox  was  emphatically 
stamped  as  the  great  apostle  of  his  country ;  '-^  but 
even  the  authority  of  Beza  could  not  have  created 
the  image  of  Knox  familiar  to  the  mind  of  every 
Scotsman.  It  is  in  his  History  of  the  Reformation 
alone  that  is  to  be  found,  in  all  its  scope  and  dis- 
tinctiveness, the  essential  spirit  of  Knox  and  his  work. 
In  his  bare  narration  of  the  part  he  played  we  have 
sufficient  proof  of  the  national  importance  of  his 
achievement ;  but  it  is  in  the  character  he  has  stamped 
upon  this  narrative  that  we  have  the  fullest  testimony 
to  the  commanding  force  of  a  personality  such  as 
appears  but  once  or  twice  in  the  history  of  any 
people.  It  was  thus  the  rare  fortune  of  Knox,  among 
religious  leaders,  to  set  forth  a  complete  presentment 
of  his  own  character  and  aims  as  he  would  have  them 
judged  at  the  bar  of  posterity. 

The   bibliographical   history  of  the  book    has    an 
interest  of  its  own,  and  it  may  be  considered  a  lucky 

1  In  one  passage  Leslie  speaks  of  Knox  as  follows  :  "  Homo  nee 
humanitate  nee  artium  cognitione,  nee  aliis  vel  naturae  vel  ingenii 
dotibus  (nisi  effrenatam  audaciam,  ac  virulentae  linguae  volubilitatem, 
stulte  sine  artis  praescripto  fluentem,  dotes  appellare  volueris)  ornatus." 
— De  Reb.  Gest.  Scot.  lib.  x.  p.  537. 

2  Beza,  Icones. 


'HIS  TOR  IE  OF  THE  REFORMATION  IN  SCOTLAND'    213 

chance  that  it  has  survived  in  such  form  as  we  now 
possess  it.  What  is  noteworthy  is  that  Knox  was 
unwilHng  that  it  should  be  pubHshed  during  his  own 
Hfetime.  To  a  correspondent  who  had  apparently 
been  pressing  him  to  give  it  to  the  world,  he  writes 
as  follows  :  "  My  purpose,  beloved  in  the  Lord,  con- 
cerning that  which  oft  and  now  last  ye  crave,  I  wrote 
to  you  before,  frome  which  I  can  not  be  moved,  and, 
therefore,  of  my  friends  I  will  ask  pardon,  howbeit  in 
that  one  head  I  play  the  churle,  reteaning  to  myself 
that  which  will  rather  hurt  me  than  profit  them,  during 
my  dayes,  which  I  hope  in  God  sail  not  be  long ;  and 
then  it  sail  be  in  the  opinion  of  others,  whether  it  sail 
be  suppressed  or  come  to  light."  ^  As  we  have  seen, 
there  were  reasons  why  Knox  might  well  desire  that 
he  should  be  in  his  grave  before  many  things  he  had 
written  should  see  the  light.  Immediately  after  his 
death,  however,  steps  were  taken  to  put  his  manuscripts 
in  a  shape  suitable  for  publication.  His  secretary, 
Richard  Bannatyne,  brought  the  matter  specially  before 
the  following  General  Assembly.  The  History,  Banna- 
tyne wrote,  was  in  completed  form  as  far  as  the  year 
1564,  but  after  that  date  his  master's  papers  were  in 
such  confusion  that  considerable  pains  would  be  re- 
quired to  set  them  in  order.  If  the  Assembly  would 
grant  him  a  "reasonable  pension,"  he  would  under- 
take to  put  the  whole  work  in  a  shape  fit  to  be  given 
to  the  world."  The  request  was  granted,^  yet  there 
was  no  immediate  fruit  of  Bannatyne's  labour.  Pos- 
sibly those  who  saw  the  book  may  have  thought  that 
its  publication  would  be  ill-timed  in  the  interests  of 

1  Works,  vi.  558. 

2  Bannatyne's  letter  to  the  General  Assembly  is  given  in  the  edition 
of  Knox's  History,  published  at  Edinburgh  in  1732,  p.  xliv. 

•^  Peterkin,  Booke  of  the  Unzversall  Kirk  of  Scotland,  p.  135. 


214  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

the  very  cause  to  which  Knox  had  given  his  Hfe. 
At  length,  in  1586,  a  manuscript  of  the  History  was 
placed  in  the  hands  of  the  printer,  Thomas  Vautrol- 
lier,  with  a  view  to  its  immediate  publication.  But  the 
book  seemed  doomed  to  misadventure.  Having  taken 
the  manuscript  with  him  to  London,  Vautrollier  had 
printed  1200  copies  when  he  received  an  order  stay- 
ing their  publication.^  In  1644  the  book  was  at  last 
given  to  the  world,  though  still  under  auspices  that 
testified  to  an  evil  fate.  In  passing  through  the  hands 
of  the  censor  in  London  it  suffered  mutilation  against 
which  Milton  in  his  Areopagitica  vehemently  protested, 
as  an  injury  done  to  liberty  of  thought  and  the  memory 
of  a  great  man."  What  was  still  more  unfortunate,  its 
editor,  David  Buchanan,  did  his  work  with  so  easy  a 
conscience  that  for  nearly  a  century  the  authenticity 
of  the  book  was  seriously  called  in  question.  By  his 
tampering  with  the  text,  and  his  arbitrary  omissions 
and    interpolations,^  difficulties  were  presented  which 

1  In  Calderwood's  larger  MS.  History  occurs  the  following  pas- 
sage: "Vautrollier  the  printer  took  with  him  a  copy  of  Mr.  Knox's 
History  to  England,  and  printed  twelve  hundred  of  them  ;  the  Stationers, 
at  the  Archbishop's  command,  seized  them  the  i8  of  February  [1587]; 
it  was  thought  that  he  would  get  leave  to  proceed  again,  because  the 
Council  perceived  that  it  would  bring  the  Queen  of  Scots  in  detestation." 
Copies  of  Vautrollier's  unfinished  edition  found  their  way  into  the  hands 
of  the  public.      They  are  now  very  scarce. 

2  Areopagitica,  A  Speech  of  Mr.  John  Milt 071  for  the  Liberty  of 
Unlicens'd  Printing,  addressed  to  the  Parliament  of  England.  London, 
1644,  p.  22.  As  expressing  Milton's  opinion  of  Knox,  the  following 
passage  is  interesting.  "  Nay,  which  is  more  lamentable,  if  the  work  of 
any  deceased  author,  though  never  so  famous  in  his  lifetime,  and  even 
to  this  day,  come  to  their  hands  for  licence  to  be  Printed  or  Reprinted, 
if  there  be  found  in  his  book  one  sentence  of  a  ventrous  edge,  utter'd  in 
the  height  of  zeal,  and  who  knows  whether  it  might  not  be  the  dictat  of 
a  divine  Spirit,  yet  not  suiting  with  every  low  decrepit  humor  of  their 
own,  though  it  were  Knox  himself,  the  Reformer  of  a  Kingdom,  that 
shake  it,  they  will  not  pardoun  him  their  dash,"  etc. 

"^  Specimens  of  Buchanan's  alterations  are  given  in  a  letter  of  Robert 
Wodrow,  Librarian  of  the  University  of  Glasgow,  to  Bishop  Nicolson, 


' HISTORIE  OF  THE  REFORMATION  IN  SCOTLAND'   215 

were  hardly  consistent  with  the  assumption  that  Knox 
was  its  author.  An  edition  published  in  1732  set  this 
question  at  rest.  Based  on  a  manuscript  in  the  posses- 
sion of  the  University  of  Glasgow,  this  edition  was 
produced  with  a  pious  care  that  left  nothing  to  be 
desired/  and  it  was  only  the  discovery  of  an  earlier 
manuscript  that  enabled  Laing  to  print  what  may  be 
considered  the  definitive  text  of  the  History  as  it  came 
from  the  hands  of  Knox.- 

It  is  in  October  1559  that  we  first  hear  of  Knox's 
intention  to  write  his  book.^  By  reports  spread  at 
home  and  abroad  the  cause  of  the  Congregation  was 
being  seriously  compromised,  and  its  progress  hindered. 
Before  Knox's  return  in  May  1559  the  Protestant 
leaders  had  issued  a  manifesto  in  Latin, '^  in  which  they 
sought  to  justify  their  proceedings  in  the  eyes  of  all 
Christian  princes.  It  was  still  more  important,  how- 
ever, that  they  should  set  themselves  right  in  the 
public  opinion  of  England  and  Scotland.  With  this 
object  they  called  on  Knox  to  compose  a  history  of 
their  past  and  present  doings  which  should  set  forth 
their  true  aims,  and  materially  advance  their  cause.  In 
the  preface  to  the  second  book,  Knox  has  in  set  terms 

printed  in  part  in  Nicolson's  Scottish  Historical  Library^  Appendix  VI., 
and  in  full  in  the  edition  of  Knox's  History,  1732.  Laing  has  printed 
a  fuller  list,  Knox,  Works,  ii.  569  et  seq. 

1  The  Historic  of  the  Reforjuatioiin  of  Religion ti  within  the  Realm 
of  Scotland.  .  .  .  taken  from  the  Original  Manuscript  in  the  University 
Library  of  Glasgow,  and  compared  with  other  ancient  Copies.  Edin- 
burgh, 1732.     The  editor  was  the  Rev.  Matthew  Crawfurd. 

2  Knox,   Works,  i.  xxx.  et  seq. 

3  "  The  authoritie  of  the  Frenche  King  and  Quen  is  yet  receaved, 
and  wilbe  in  wourd  till  thei  deny  our  most  just  requeastes,  which  ye 
shall,  God  wiUing,  schortlie  hereafter  understand,  togetther  with  our  hole 
proceadings  from  the  begynninge  of  this  matter,  which  we  now  ar  to 
sett  furth  in  maner  of  Historic."  —  Knox  to  Gregory  Raylton,  23rd 
October  1559,   Works,  vi.  87. 

*  See  above,  ii.  53. 


2i6  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

declared  the  motive  and  object  of  his  work.  "Least 
that  Sathan,"  he  says,  "by  our  long  silence  shall  tak 
occasioun  to  blaspheym,  and  to  sklander  us  the  Protest- 
antis  of  the  Realme  of  Scotland,  as  that  our  fact  tendit 
rather  to  seditioun  and  rebellioun  then  to  reformatioun 
of  maners  and  abuses  in  Religioun,  we  have  thocht  ex- 
pedient, so  trewHe  and  brievlie  as  we  can,  to  committ 
to  writting  the  causes  moving  us  (us,  we  say,  ane 
great  parte  of  the  Nobilitie  and  Baronis  of  the  Realme) 
to  tak  the  sweard  of  just  defence  against  those  that 
most  injustlie  seak  our  destructioun."^  The  main  lines 
of  his  work  were  thus  clearly  laid  down  ;  yet  even  had 
no  charge  been  laid  upon  him,  Knox  was  not  the 
man  to  write  a  history  which  should  hold  the  balance 
straight  when  his  own  deepest  convictions  were  in 
question.  That  such  a  history  could  be  written  even 
by  a  zealous  believer,  was  proved  later  in  the  century 
(1581)  by  the  History  of  France,  of  the  Huguenot  La 
Popeliniere.  "  I  have  put  in  practice,"  says  that 
writer,  "a  new  method  of  representing  the  designs 
and  actions  of  contending  parties,  remaining  neutral 
and  dispassionate  as  a  historian  ought  to  be."  So 
little  was  this  self-effacement  appreciated  in  the  six- 
teenth century,  that  the  unfortunate  historian  was 
handled  as  roughly  by  his  fellow-Huguenots  as  by  the 
Catholics." 

As  originally  conceived,  the  narrative  was  to  be 
confined  to  events  between  1558  and  the  arrival  of 
Mary  in  Scotland — the  ground  actually  covered  by  the 
second  and  third  books  of  the  History  as  we  now 
possess  it.     On  second  thoughts,  however,  an  introduc- 

1    Works^  i.  297,  298. 

-  Histoire  Universelle  par  Agrippa  D Aubigne,  Edition  publie'e  pour 
la  Societe  de  P Histoire  de  Fraftce,  par  le  Baron  Alphonse  de  Ruble,  i. 
371-376. 


'HIST OKIE  OF  THE  REFORMATION  IN  SCOTLAND'    217 

tory  book  was  added  by  way  of  leading  up  to  the  special 
work  of  the  Congregation.^  The  fourth  book  may  be 
considered  in  inspiration,  conception,  and  treatment,  as, 
beyond  all  its  companions,  the  specific  expression  of 
Knox's  own  individuality.  From  this  book,  as  we 
shall  see,  is  in  large  measure  derived  that  image  of 
Knox  which  has  passed  into  the  minds  of  his  country- 
men. The  fifth  and  last  book  bears  in  no  degree  the 
characteristics  of  Knox,  and  at  best  must  be  regarded 
as  the  orderly  presentment  of  the  "  Scrolls "  found 
among  his  papers  after  his  death. 

Of  all  the  four  books,  the  first  is  that  which  best 
exhibits  Knox's  gifts  as  a  historian.  The  succeeding 
three  are  so  largely  made  up  of  documents  and  conver- 
sations that  he  has  no  opportunity  of  rising  to  a  full 
and  flowing  narrative.  In  his  first  book,  however,  he 
had  ample  scope  for  every  gift  of  the  historian  ;  for  his 
subject  was  the  origin  and  development  of  a  movement 
that  resulted  in  the  awakening  of  the  national  conscious- 
ness. Of  the  success  with  which  he  performed  his  task 
there  is  one  irrefragable  proof.  The  story,  as  he  has 
told  it,  has  gone  into  the  popular  mind  as  effectively  as 
the  chant  of  an  epic  poet.  The  Lollards  of  Kyle,  the 
martyrdom  of  Patrick  Hamilton,  the  rout  of  Sol  way  / 
Moss,  the  mission  and  death  of  Wishart,  the  slaughter 
of  Cardinal  Beaton,  the  siege  of  the  Castle  of  St. 
Andrews — it  is  mainly  through  the  pages  of  Knox  that 
these  scenes  and  persons  stand  forth  with  such  vivid- 
ness in  Scottish  history  and  tradition.  Nor  can  the 
story,  as  he  has  told  it,  be  impugned  as  a  close  and 
accurate  presentment  of  the  facts  he  professed  to 
record.  In  treating  the  period  which  this  first  book 
covers,   succeeding   Church   historians   have    in    large 

1    Works ^  i.  4. 


2i8  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

degree  only  reproduced  with  their  own  idiosyncrasies 
the  materials  supplied  by  Knox. 

The  second  and  third  books,  as  has  been  said, 
comprise  the  whole  work  as  it  was  originally  conceived. 
Practically  they  were  written  from  day  to  day  as 
events  happened  which  the  writer  deemed  worthy  of 
record.^  Intended  in  the  first  place  as  a  justification 
of  the  Protestant  party,  these  books  bear  on  their  face 
a  character  distinct  from  the  others.  The  writer  speaks 
throughout  In  the  name  and  with  the  authority  of  the 
nobles  and  barons  at  whose  request  the  work  was 
undertaken.  Though  their  avowed  object  might  thus 
seem  to  discredit  them  as  trustworthy  history,  these 
books  are,  in  truth,  the  most  valuable  portion  of  the 
work.  To  carry  conviction  of  the  truth  of  his  represen- 
tations, Knox  was  led  to  choose  the  method  which  It 
is  the  boast  of  the  present  age  to  have  rigorously 
applied  to  historical  study.  Fully  three- fourths  of 
these  two  books  consist  of  original  documents,  from 
which  the  reader  is  enabled  to  form  his  own  judgment 
on  the  points  at  Issue  between  the  contending  parties. 
In  the  actual  narrative  we  have  convincing  proof  alike 
of  the  writer's  good  faith,  and  of  his  perception  of  the 
conditions  of  historic  truth.  What  he  relates  Is  either 
based  on  what  he  has  himself  seen,  or  on  the  authority 
of  those  on  whose  testimony  he  had  every  reason  to 
place  his  faith.  In  spite  of  his  unconcealed  bias,  there- 
fore, we  have  In  this  part  of  Knox's  work  an  exposition 
of  the  most  momentous  epoch  of  Scottish  history  which 
can  hardly  be  overestimated.  He  has  preserved  many 
documents  which  but  for  his  labours  could  In  all  prob- 

1  This  appears  from  the  narrative  itself.  For  the  early  period  treated 
in  these  books,  notes  and  materials  must  have  been  supplied  to  Knox,  as 
he  did  not  return  to  Scotland  till  May  1559.  The  Preface  to  the  second 
book  seems  to  have  been  written  before  the  Treaty  of  Edinburgh. 


'HISTORIE  OF  THE  REFORMATION  IN  SCOTLAND'   219 

ability  never  have  been  recovered.^  In  this  part  of  his 
work  the  later  Church  historians,  Calderwood,  Spottis- 
woode,  and  Keith,  have  for  the  most  part  only  drawn 
their  materials  from  the  pages  of  Knox.  In  his  con- 
ception of  his  task,  also,  Knox  shows  a  full  understand- 
ing of  the  scope  of  the  revolution  in  which  he  was  the 
most  distinguished  actor.  From  the  account  of  that 
revolution  which  has  been  given  in  the  present  work  it 
appears  how  largely  that  account  was  necessarily  based 
on  Knox's  own  reports  of  the  events  and  personages 
that  make  up  its  history.  Without  accepting  his 
opinions  as  to  these  events  and  personages,  we  find  in 
his  presentment  of  facts  the  adequate  explanation  of 
the  breach  which  the  Scottish  people  then  made  with  its 
past.  The  causes — economic,  political,  moral,  and 
spiritual — which  produced  the  Scottish  Reformation 
are  set  forth  in  these  pages  with  a  precision  and 
emphasis  which  cannot  be  misapprehended.  It  is  thus, 
perhaps,  the  unique  distinction  of  Knox  to  have  been 
at  once  the  maker  and  the  writer  of  history  on  a  scale 
that  may  be  safely  described  as  of  national  and  even 
European  importance. 

If  the  second  and  third  books  have  the  highest 
value  as  history,  it  is  in  the  fourth  that  we  must  look 
for  the  manifestation  of  Knox's  spirit.  Composed 
mainly  in  the  year  1566,"  it  is  evidently  based  on  full 

1  In  a  letter  of  Randolph  to  Cecil  (23rd  September  1560)  we  have 
an  interesting  testimony  to  the  pains  which  Knox  took  with  his  work. 
"  I  have  tawlked  at  large  with  Mr.  Knox  concerning  his  Hystorie.  As 
mykle  as  ys  written  thereof  shall  be  sent  to  your  Honour,  at  the  comynge 
of  the  Lords  Embassadours  by  Mr.  John  Woode.  He  hath  wrytten 
only  one  Booke.  If  yow  lyke  that,  he  shall  continue  the  same,  or  adde 
onie  more.  He  sayethe  that  he  must  have  further  helpe  then  is  to  be 
had  in  thys  countrie,  for  more  assured  knowledge  of  thyngs  passed  than 
he  hath  hymself,  or  can  come  bye  here  :  yt  is  a  work  not  to  be  neglected, 
and  greatly  wyshed  that  yt  sholde  be  well  handled." — Knox,  Works,  vi. 
121.  ^    Works,  ii.  265. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 


and  careful  notes  which  had  been  made  with  a  view  to 
the  continuous  narrative  in  which  it  took  final  shape. 
In  the  period  which  it  records — the  first  three  years  of 
the  reign  of  Mary  ^ — Knox  had  a  theme  after  his  own 
heart,  which  could  hardly  fail  to  draw  forth  all  the 
strength  and  weakness  of  his  character  and  intelligence. 
When  he  addressed  himself  to  his  task,  be  it  said,  he 
was  in  the  mood  of  the  prophet  rather  than  of  the 
historian.  As  he  looked  around  him,  he  saw  the  ap- 
parent ruin  of  all  his  hopes  for  his  country  and  his 
religion.  The  Book  of  Discipline  was  farther  than 
ever  from  being  accepted  as  the  law  and  testimony  of 
the  nation,  and  the  enemies  of  the  truth  were  rearing 
their  heads  in  triumph.  What  embittered  the  situation 
was  that  it  had  been  brought  about,  as  it  seemed  to 
him,  by  the  lukewarmness  of  friends  rather  than  the 
strength  of  opponents.  With  these  feelings  in  his 
heart,  Knox  sat  down  to  write  the  story  of  the  years 
since  the  ill-omened  return  of  the  Queen.  In  this 
portion  of  his  work  he  could  no  longer  speak  as  the 
representative  of  the  whole  body  of  the  Congregation. 
Though  he  does  not  make  use  of  the  first  person,  it  is 
himself  and  his  own  words  and  deeds  that  are  the 
central  theme  of  his  narrative.  The  Protestant  nobles 
having  taken  a  course  of  their  own,  he  was  virtually 
the  sole  champion  of  the  cause  which  these  nobles 
seemed  to  be  giving  away.  In  the  preface  to  the 
fourth  book  he  frankly  announces  the  line  he  is  about 
to  take.  True  religion,  he  says,  had  come  to  its  present 
pass  "becaus  that  suddandlie  the  most  parte  of  us 
declyned  from  the  puritie  of  Goddis  word,  and  began 
to  follow  the  warld  ;    and  so  agane  to  schaik  handis 

1    It  would  seem  that  Knox  had  no  intention  of  carrying  his  History 
beyond  this  date. —  Works,  ii.  422.      But  see  above  p.  216. 


'  HISTORIE  OF  THE  REFORMATION  IN  SCOTLAND'   221 

with  the  Devill,  and  with  idolatrie,  as  in  this  Fourte 
Booke  we  will  hear."^  How  he  performed  his  task 
has  sufficiently  appeared  from  a  preceding  chapter. 
There  we  have  seen  how  his  sermons  in  St.  Giles's, 
his  conversations  with  the  Queen,  his  wrangles  with 
Lethington,  his  alienation  from  Moray  —  form  the 
staple  of  his  narrative  of  these  years  of  backsliding 
and  shame.  It  was  little  wonder  that  he  should  wish 
his  eyes  closed  before  a  narrative  appeared  which  the 
Protestant  nobles,  and  Moray  in  special,  might  justly 
regard  as  a  perversion  of  their  real  aims  and  motives. 
More  than  any  of  their  enemies,  Knox  is  responsible 
for  opinions  regarding  these  nobles  which  ignore  the 
difficulties  of  their  position  and  the  policy  that  under- 
lay their  relations  to  the  Oueen,  Accordino-  to  his 
representation,  they  played  into  the  hands  of  Mary  for 
their  own  selfish  interests,  and  betrayed  the  Church  to 
which  they  had  professed  their  devotion.  How  far 
this  was  from  the  whole  truth  we  have  already  seen  ; 
and  in  his  later  years  Knox  may  himself  have  come  to 
see  that  in  his  haste  he  had  done  gross  injustice  to 
certain  men  whom  in  his  heart  he  regarded  with  affec- 
tion and  esteem. 

Of  the  fifth  book  of  the  History  little  need  be  said. 
In  passing  to  it  from  the  others  we  descend  to  a  lower 
plane  of  intelligence  and  feeling.  In  its  fiaccid  and 
monotonous  narrative  we  are  the  width  of  heaven  from 
Knox's  outpouring  of  spirit  and  passionate  delivery  of 
his  subject.  How  it  assumed  the  form  in  which  it  now 
stands  it  seems,  impossible  to  explain."  It  has  been 
y  ascribed  to  David  Buchanan,  who  edited  the  History 

1  Works,  ii.  265. 

2  We  have  no  definite  information  as  to  whether  Richard  Bannatyne 
carried  out  the  task  of  editing  Knox's  papers,  as  he  proposed. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 


in  1644  ;  but  from  internal  evidence  this  seems  un- 
likely. If  we  may  judge  from  Buchanan's  authentic 
work,  he  was  somewhat  wrongheaded,  but  not  without 
a  certain  force  and  ingenuity  of  mind.  In  his  mode  of 
expression  he  was  disposed  to  elaboration,  and  at  times 
he  verges  on  the  euphuism  of  Sir  Thomas  Urquhart.^ 
But  the  style  of  this  fifth  book  is  as  devoid  of  literary 
preoccupation  as  any  style  could  be.  On  the  subject 
of  religion,  also,  Buchanan  had  fervid  convictions, 
which  must  have  left  their  stamp  even  in  his  serving- 
up  of  another's  materials.  But  though  the  compiler, 
whoever  he  may  have  been,  shows  unmistakable 
Protestant  sympathies,  he  was  evidently  incapable  of 
the  energy  of  feeling  of  which  Buchanan  has  given 
such  emphatic  proof.  What  seems  the  most  probable 
conjecture  is  that  Richard  Bannatyne  may  actually 
have  completed  the  work  he  undertook,  and  have 
wrought  Knox's  papers  into  a  consecutive  narrative. 
In  point  of  execution  the  narrative  seems  the  appro- 
priate work  of  a  secretary  trained  to  method  and  order, 
but  of  no  great  culture  or  force  of  mind  ;  and  such  we 
know  Richard  Bannatyne  to  have  been. 

For  various  reasons  it  will  be  seen  that  Knox's 
History  of  the  Reformation  holds  a  unique  place  in 
Enelish  literature.  As  the  work  of  one  who  both 
made  and  wrote  history  on  a  scale  of  such  importance, 
it  has  an  antecedent  and  special  interest  of  its  own. 
But  in  itself  it  possesses  qualities  which  compel  us  to 
recognise  it  as  a  notable  product  of  character  and 
genius.  It  is  when  we  compare  it  with  the  contem- 
porary vernacular    narratives    of    Bishop    Leslie    and 

1  In  the  long  Preface  on  the  history  of  the  Scottish  nation  with 
which  he  introduces  his  edition  of  Knox's  History  we  have  a  character- 
istic example  of  Buchanan's  style. 


■  HISTORIE  OF  THE  REFORMATION  IX  SCOT  LA  XD'    223 

Sir  James  Melville  that  we  realise  all  the  superiority  of 
Knox.  Preoccupied  with  petty  details,  and  incapable 
of  philosophical  and  spiritual  insight,  these  writers  had 
no  conception  of  the  momentous  issues  that  hung  on 
the  events  which  they  record.  Among  the  historians 
of  the  century,  indeed,  there  is  but  one  who  by  the 
quality  of  his  talent  may  be  fitly  compared  to  Knox — 
the  Huguenot,  Agrippa  D'Aubigne.  By  the  identity 
and  intensitv  of  their  convictions  thev  naturallv  suo^aest 
a  parallel,  and  the  literary  characteristics  of  the  one  are 
largely  those  of  the  other.  Yet,  vivid  and  dramatic  as 
is  the  work  of  D'Aubigne,  it  cannot  be  put  beside  that 
of  Knox  as  the  expression  of  the  awakened  conscious- 
ness of  a  people. 

For  the  biographer  of  Knox,  however,  his  Histor\' 
is  mainly  interesting  for  the  light  it  throws  on  the 
mind  and  heart  of  the  man.  In  his  other  works,  with 
the  exception  of  a  few  letters,  it  is  as  the  politician  or 
the  theologian  or  the  preacher  that  he  exclusively 
presents  himself.  In  his  History  there  is  a  play  of 
mind  and  feeling  from  which  we  may  draw  some  image 
of  the  man  with  his  innate  aptitudes  and  affinities. 
The  dominant  characteristic  of  the  book  cannot  be 
missed  by  the  most  casual  reader — the  abounding 
vitality  that  quickens  it  from  the  first  page  to  the  last. 
On  the  face  of  it,  it  is  the  production  of  one  whose 
function  it  was  to  speak  and  not  to  write,  whose  habit 
was  to  emphasise  with  tone  and  gesture  every  sentence 
that  rose  to  his  lips.  The  intensity  of  the  writer's 
likes  and  dislikes  would  of  itself  save  the  book  from 
dulness  ;  but  his  enercry  of  feelingr  is  manifest  in  the 
smallest  details  with  which  he  concerns  himself  The 
notion  of  Knox  as  a  one-eyed  fanatic,  groaning  under 
the  burden  of  his  mission,  is  certainly  not  borne  out  by 


224  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 


these  two  volumes  of  his  History.  On  every  page  the 
fact  is  thrust  upon  us  that  he  was  the  keenest  of 
observers,  and  that  he  had  a  specially  wide  knowledge 
of  the  practical  aspects  of  life.  When  he  describes  a 
battle,  as  he  more  than  once  has  clone,  it  is  with  the 
gusto  of  one  whose  immediate  ancestors  had  died 
under  the  banner  of  their  feudal  superior.  From  the 
"  meary  bourds"  ^  with  which  he  enlivens  his  narrative, 
we  may  infer  that  his  daily  conversation  was  not  always 
of  justification  and  predestination  ;  but  that  he  could 
tell  his  story  and  exchange  his  jest  as  time  and  place 
were  fitting.  What  distinguishes  him  from  men  like 
Calvin  or  Savonarola  is  precisely  that  sense  of  a  humor- 
ous side  of  things,  which  made  him  at  once  a  great 
writer  and  a  great  leader  of  men.  Of  the  value  of  this 
quality  in  the  conduct  of  human  affairs  he  was  himself 
perfectly  conscious,  and  deliberately  employed  it  both 
in  his  writings  and  in  his  dealings  with  his  fellows. 
"  Melancholius  ressouns,"  he  said  in  one  of  his  debates 
with  Lethington,  "  wald  haif  sum  myrth  intermixed."^ 
Studied  anticlimax,  grim  irony,  humorous  exagger- 
ation, are  as  distinctively  his  characteristics  as  they 
are  those  of  Carlyle,  in  whom  also  they  are  relieving 
qualities  to  narrow  intensity  and  an  overbearing 
temper.  With  humour  is  usually  found  pity  and  the 
power  of  pathos  ;  and  in  Knox,  more  than  once,  his 
harsh  austerity  softens  into  a  mood  the  more  impressive 
that  it  comes  so  seldom.  As  he  has  told  it,  the  story 
of  the  mission  and  death  of  George  Wishart  is  a 
masterpiece  of  that  stern  pathos  which  is  not  common 
in  literature,  for  those  to  whom  it  is  natural  do  not 
usually  become  men  of  letters.  In  the  passage  where 
he    describes   the    arrest   of  Wishart  there  is  a  brief 

1  Lively  jests.  ^    Works,  ii.  450. 


'HISTORIE  OF  THE  REFORMATION  IN  SCOTLAND'   225 

intensity  which  will  not  be  easily  matched  in  English 
literature.  "  After  suppar  he  [Wishart]  held  comfort- 
able purpose  ^  of  the  death  of  Goddis  chosen  childrin, 
and  mearely  said,  '  Methink  that  I  desyre  earnestlye  to 
sleep;'  and  thairwith  he  said,  '  Will  we  sing  a  Psalme?  ' 
And  so  he  appointed  the  51st  Psalme,  which  was  put 
in  Scotishe  meter,  and  begane  thus  : — 

Have  mercy  on  me  now,  good  Lord, 
After  thy  great  mercy,  etc., 

which  being  ended,  he  past  to  chalmer,  and  sonar 
then  his  commoun  dyet  was,  past  to  bed  with  these 
wourdis,  *  God  grant  qwyet  rest.'  Befoir  mydnycht  the 
place  was  besett  about  that  none  could  eschape  to 
mack  advertisement."  - 

1  Conversation. 

"  Works^  i.  139-140.  There  is  an  interesting  paper  on  Knox's 
History  in  the  Miscellaneous  Essays  and  Add^-esses  of  Sir  WiUiani 
Stirhng-Maxwell.  As  will  afterwards  be  seen,  the  composition  of  his 
History  occupied  Knox  to  the  very  close  of  his  life.  Cf.  Works,  vi. 
611;  and  Richard  Bannatyne's  Meinoriales,  passim.  From  his  long 
residence  in  England  and  his  subsequent  intercourse  with  Englishmen 
on  the  Continent,  it  was  natural  that  Knox  should  express  himself  in  a 
kind  of  Anglicised  Scots.  Accordingly,  Ninian  Winzet  could  say  to 
him  :  "  Gif  ze,  throw  curiositie  of  nouationis,  hes  forzet  our  auld  plane 
Scottis  quhilk  zour  mother  lerit  zou,  in  tymes  cuming  I  sail  wryte  to 
zou  my  mynd  in  Latin,  for  I  am  nocht  acquyntit  with  zour  Southeroun." 
— Cerlain  Tractates,  etc.  i.  138  (Scot.  Text  Soc). 


VOL.  II  IS 


CHAPTER    III 

THE    SECOND    REVOLUTION KNOX    AND    MORAY 

1565-1570 

In  the  overthrow  of  Moray  and  his  associates  Knox 
could  not  but  see  the  temporary  ruin  of  all  his  hopes 
for  true  religion.  Not  since  "that  dark  and  dolorous 
night"  of  November,  when  the  Lords  of  the  Congre- 
gation were  driven  from  Edinburgh,  had  the  prospect 
been  so  gloomy  as  now.  Mary  was  triumphant  on  all 
hands,  and,  secure  in  her  victory,  gave  Rizzio  pre- 
cedence in  her  counsels  over  the  first  of  her  Catholic 
nobles.  As  early  as  the  3rd  of  June  Randolph  had 
written  to  Cecil :  "  David  now  worketh  all,  and  is  only 
governor  to  the  King  and  his  family  ;  great  is  his 
pride,  and  his  words  intollerable  ;  "  and  every  day  since, 
the  Italian's  power  had  gone  on  increasing.  But  as 
the  known  agent  of  the  Pope,  Rizzio's  predominance 
could  lead  to  but  one  issue,  which,  as  things  now  went, 
could  not  be  far  off.  The  last  few  months  had  already 
wrought  disaster  in  the  ranks  of  the  ministers.  Even 
during  the  ascendency  of  Moray,  their  means  of  sub- 
sistence had  been  meagre  and  precarious  ;  but  for  the 
whole  year  following  Moray's  breach  with  the  Queen, 
not  a  penny  of  their  allotted  stipends  was  forthcoming.^ 

1  This  appears  from  a  letter  of  Mary  entitled  "  Assignation  for  the 
Ministerie  by  the  Queen,"  20th  December  1566.  See  Booke  of  the 
Universall  Kirk  of  Scotland^  pp.  95,  96. 


THE  SECOND  REVOLUTION  227 

Some  of  them,  it  was  said,  died  in  the  streets  for 
hunger  and  cold.^  It  is  not  wonderful,  therefore, 
that  certain  were  drawing  back  from  an  office  so 
ungrateful,  while  others,  to  the  scandal  of  religion, 
sought  to  conjoin  secular  pursuits  with  their  sacred 
functions.  From  its  troubles  within  and  without  it 
was  evident  that  if  another  revolution  did  not  come 
soon,  the  new  Church  would  be  in  no  better  case  than 
in  the  days  of  its  controversy  with  Mary  of  Lorraine. 

All  that  Knox  could  do  in  this  time  of  eclipse  he 
appears  to  have  done  with  his  usual  vigour.  The  ban 
on  his  preaching  applied  only  during  the  residence  of 
the  King  and  Queen  in  Edinburgh,"  and  the  autumn  of 
1565  saw  him  as  active  as  ever  in  his  function  of 
prophet  and  censor.  The  burden  of  his  preaching 
now  was  the  evil  state  of  a  country  when  its  best 
citizens  were  banished  and  God's  servants  oppressed. 
His  words  were  reported  to  the  Queen,  and  seemed 
likely  to  bring  him  into  trouble  ;  but  on  this  occasion 
he  found  an  unexpected  champion.  Lethington,  now 
set  aside  for  Rizzio,  and  therefore  not  on  the  best  of 
terms  with  the  Court,  testified  that  he  had  heard  the 
incriminating  sermons,  and  that  in  none  of  them  had 
a  word  been  said  "whereat  any  man  need  to  be 
offended."^ 

On  December  25th  the  Church  held  its  half-yearly 
Assembly,  and  raised  its  usual  protest  against  the 
policy  of  the  Court.  In  the  absence  of  its  most 
influential  members,  however,  it  was  no  longer  the 
formidable  body  it  had  been  during  the  last  few  years. 

^  Letter  of  the  Commendators  of  Arbroath,  Kilwinning,  etc. — Booke 
of  the  U7iiversall  Ki7-k  of  Scotlaiid^  p.  62. 

-  P'or  a  time  his  preaching  must  have  ceased,  as  Craig,  his  colleague, 
desired  assistance  at  this  time  "  in  respect  he  was  alone." — Calderwood, 
ii.  340.  3    Works^  ii.  514. 


228  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

In  view  of  their  unhappy  estate,  the  Assembly  deter- 
mined that  a  pubhc  Fast  should  be  held  for  the  national 
sins,  which  had  brought  the  displeasure  of  Heaven  on 
Church  and  State  alike.  No  such  means  of  grace  had 
been  counselled  before,  because  it  had  seemed  to  be  a 
concession  to  the  idle  practices  of  the  Pope's  religion. 
To  justify  this  new  departure,  and  to  make  the  Fast 
a  harmless  and  profitable  exercise,  was  a  matter  that 
demanded  circumspection.  As  beyond  suspicion  of 
any  compromise  with  superstition,  Knox  was  entrusted 
with  the  task  of  placing  in  its  true  light  the  meaning 
and  efficacy  of  public  and  private  fasts.  In  discharg- 
ing his  task  he  took  the  opportunity  of  producing  a 
manifesto,  in  which  he  reviewed  at  length  the  condi- 
tion and  prospects  of  the  Church.  On  their  own 
zeal  and  devotion,  he  told  his  readers,  must  they 
depend  for  the  advance  of  godliness  in  the  nation. 
Any  hope  they  had  of  the  Queen's  eyes  being  opened, 
they  must  now  resolutely  set  aside.  In  plain  words 
she  had  publicly  told  them  that  she  would  never 
abandon  the  religion  in  which  she  had  been  reared.^ 
Three  reasons  for  the  public  Fast  are  specially  adduced 
— the  abounding  sin  "  in  all  estates,"  "  the  great 
hunger,  famine,  and  oppressioun  of  the  poure,"  and 
the  state  of  the  afflicted  brethren  "  in  France,  Flanders, 
and  other  parts."  "  Besides  this  "  Order  of  the  General 
Fast,"  Knox,  also  in  the  name  of  the  Assembly,  wrote 
a  special  "  exhortation"  to  all  classes  of  Protestants,  in 
which  he  besought  their  support  in  that  crisis  of  their 

1  In  a  letter  to  the  Assembly  Mary  had  said  that  "she  neither  may 
nor  will  leave  the  religion  wherein  she  has  been  nourished  and  up- 
brought." — Booke  of  the  Universall  Kirk,  p.  34.  Mary's  letter  was 
written  after  her  triumph  over  Moray. 

"  Works,  vi.  428.— Tytler  is  mistaken  in  associating  this  Fast 
with  the  murder  of  Rizzio.  The  Fast,  and  the  reasons  for  it,  were 
settled  in  the  December  of  the  year  preceding  Rizzio's  death. 


THE  SECOND  REVOLUTION  229 

faith.  Soon  no  minister  would  be  left  to  announce  to 
them  the  truth  they  professed  to  cherish.  Appealing 
as  usual  to  Scriptural  examples,  he  puts  to  them  the 
following  question  :  "  Did  a  man  feede  an  hundered 
servauntes  of  the  Lorde,  and  in  that  tyme  when  things 
were  most  scant,  and  yet  both  the  King  and  the 
Oueene  sought  the  subversion  of  true  religion  and 
the  destruction  of  all  God's  true  servants,  and  shal 
not  a  thousand  of  us  and  moe  that  have  professed  the 
Lord  Jesus  in  this  Realme,  upon  our  charges,  sustaine 
two  or  three  hundereth  of  such  as  have  travailed,  and 
yet  travaile  to  advance  the  kingdome  of  Jesus  Christ 
amongst  us  .'^  "  ^ 

With  his  best  friends  in  exile,  and  the  Court  now 
guided  as  it  was,  Knox  could  hardly  be  safe  in  Edin- 
burgh, if  he  went  on  as  he  had  been  doing.  A  request 
came  from  St.  Andrews  that  he  would  take  charge  of 
the  congregation  in  that  town,  but  the  Assembly 
refused  to  consider  it.^  Possibly  to  put  him  out  of 
harm's  way  Knox  was  charged,  during  the  ensuing 
months,  to  make  a  preaching  tour  in  the  south,  and  to 
remain  "so  long  as  occasioun  might  suffer."^ 

During  these  months  a  train  was  laid  in  which 
Knox  had  probably  no  part;  but  which  would  doubt- 
less have  had  his  hearty  approval.  An  upstart  foreigner 
at  the  head  of  affairs  could  not  long  be  borne  by  a 
body  of  men  like  the  nobles  of  Scotland.  That  Mary, 
in  the  policy  she  had  at  heart,  should  have  given  her 
confidence  to  Rizzio  is  easily  intelligible  ;  but  that  she 
should  have  flaunted  him  before  the  world,  as  she  did, 
was  imprudence  that  approached  imbecility.      By  the 

1  Works,  vi.  435. 

2  Keith,  iii.  127.     He  was  wanted  at  St.  Andrews  to  fill  the  place  of 
his  friend  Goodman,  who  had  just  gone  to  England. 

^  Calderwood,  ii.  306. 


230  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

obtrusive  favours  she  heaped  upon  him,  she  ahenated 
her  husband,  and  turned  him,  weak  as  he  was,  into  a 
dangerous  tool  in  the  hands  of  a  disaffected  party.  So 
wholly  did  the  future  seem  to  be  in  the  hands  of 
Rizzio,  that  this  party  saw  no  hope  as  long  as  he  was 
at  the  ear  of  their  Queen.  In  these  circumstances 
they  took  the  counsel  which  nine-tenths  of  the  public 
men  in  Europe  would  have  winked  at  or  approved  as 
a  satisfactory  means  of  removing  a  political  enemy.^ 
Less  than  a  century  before,  the  Scottish  nobles  had 
summarily  hanged  the  Court  favourite  Cochrane  for 
reasons  which  had  the  approval  of  the  country.  With 
this  precedent  before  them,  Morton,  Lindsay,  Ruthven, 
and  other  Protestants  of  inferior  rank  exchanged  oaths 
with  Darnley  and  his  father  Lennox,  to  cut  off  the 
offending  foreigner  before  his  evil  action  should  be 
beyond  repair.  At  the  next  meeting  of  Parliament 
(4th  March  1566)  the  designs  of  Rizzio  were  to  take 
effect  in  measures  which  would  be  disastrous  to  the 
future  of  Protestantism.  Among  these  measures  were 
to  be  enactments  in  favour  of  the  old  religion,  and  the 
forfeiture  of  those  who  had  taken  part  in  the  late 
rebellion."  Before  these  measures  should  pass  it  was 
decided  that  the  enemy  should  be  cut  off  as  Cochrane 
had  been  cut  off  at  Lauder  Bridge. 

In  the  atrocious  deed  of  the  9th  of  March   Knox 
in  all  probability  had  neither  art  nor  part.      Morton 

1  The  Council  of  Henry  VIII.  approved  the  plot  for  the  murder  of 
Cardinal  Beaton.  Similarly  on  the  yth  June  1571  Philip  II. 's 
Council  of  State  deliberated  on  a  scheme  for  the  assassination  of 
Elizabeth. — Mignet,  ii.  161. 

2  "  The  spirituall  estate  being  placed  therein  [that  is,  in  the  Parlia- 
ment] in  the  ancient  maner,  tending  to  have  done  some  good  anent 
restoring  the  auld  religion,  and  to  have  proceeded  against  our  rebels 
according  to  their  demerits." — Mary  to  Archbishop  of  Glasgow,  2nd 
April  1566;  Labanoff,  i.  343. 


THE  SECOND  REVOLUTION 


affirmed  this,  and  it  was  but  simple  worldly  policy  on 
the  part  of  the  conspirators  that  no  breath  of  suspicion 
should  attach  to  the  chief  minister  of  their  reliction. 
Of  the  manner  in  which  the  deed  was  done  we  may  be 
certain  that  Knox  would  disapprove  as  vehemently  as 
any  of  his  contemporaries.  From  gratuitous  bloodshed 
he  shrank  with  a  keenness  of  feeling  which  assuredly 
was  not  common  in  his  age  and  country.  When 
Kirkcaldy  of  Grange  asked  him  if  it  were  permissible  to 
escape  from  prison  by  slaying  his  gaoler,  Knox's  answer 
was  a  stern  negative.^  On  the  other  hand,  of  the 
original  plan  of  removing  Rizzio  by  summary  trial  and 
execution "  he  would  have  unconditionally  approved. 
In  his  eyes,  Rizzio  had  broken  the  highest  law  in  the 
land  in  abetting  the  mass,  and  labouring  to  bring  back 
the  Pope.  Any  trial  of  him,  therefore,  could  be  only 
to  give  the  wretched  man  the  opportunity  of  possible 
repentance.  In  any  event,  the  greatest  crime  would 
have  been  to  permit  him  to  live,  and  imperil  the  spiritual 
welfare  of  a  people.  In  this  sense  only  we  must 
understand  the  following  words  in  which  he  expressly 
applauds  the  act  of  the  Protestant  leaders  :  "And  to 
lett  the  world  understand  in  plane  termes  what  we 
meane,  that  great  abusar  of  this  commoun  wealth,  that 
pultron  and  vyle  knave  Davie,  was  justlie  punished, 
the  nynt  of  Merch,  in  the  year  of  God,  J""  V  three- 
score fyve,  for  abusing  of  the  Commoun  wealth,  and  for 
his  other  villany,  which  we  list  nott  to  express,  by  the 

1  Works ^  i.  229. 

2  The  Protestant  nobles  who  took  part  in  the  deed  wished  to  have 
the  form  of  a  trial  ;  but  Darnley  would  not  listen  to  this  suggestion.- — ■ 
Narrative  of  Morton  and  Ruthven,  Keith,  iii.  264  ;  Bedford  and  Ran- 
dolph to  the  English  Council,  27th  March  1566.  Robertson,  Hist,  of 
Scotland.,  iii.  317  (edit.  18 12);  Spottiswoode,  ii.  37  (Spottiswoode 
Society);  Knox,  Works,  ii.  521 ;  Hume,  History  of  the  House  of  Douglas 
aftd  Afigus,  pp.  289-290  (1644). 


232  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

counsall  and  handis  of  James  Douglas,  Erie  of  Morton, 
Patrik  Lord  Lyndesay,  and  the  Lord  Ruthven,  with 
otheris  assistaris  in  thare  company,  who  all,  for  thare 
just  act,  and  most  worthy  of  all  praise,  ar  now  un- 
worthely  left  of  thare  brethrein,  and  suffer  the  bitter- 
ness of  banlshement  and  exyle."  ^ 

The  removal  of  Rizzio  had  not  the  immediate 
results  that  had  been  intended.  On  the  night  follow- 
ing his  death,  Moray  and  the  exiled  lords  made  their 
entrance  into  Edinburgh  ;  and,  had  Darnley  kept  his 
pledge,  the  Protestant  party  would  have  regained  its 
ascendency.  Detaching  Darnley  from  his  fellow-con- 
spirators, however,  Mary  carried  him  to  Dunbar, 
whence  she  returned  to  the  capital  in  the  course  of 
a  week  (i8th  March).  With  Darnley,  Bothwell,  and 
the  Catholic  Lords  on  her  side,  she  was  at  least 
stronger  than  she  had  been  during  the  first  four 
years  of  her  reign,  and  in  a  securer  position  than 
during  the  unnatural  ascendency  of  Rizzio.  Three 
months  after  Rizzio's  murder  Moray  told  the  English 
resident  Killigrew  that  he  had  less  power  in  the 
country  than  after  his  breach  with  Mary  regarding 
the  Darnley  marriage.^ 

After  the  death  of  her  favourite,  Mary  was  in  no 
temper  to  endure  the  scoldings  of  preachers  ;  and  as 
Moray  was  not  in  a  position  to  protect  him,  Knox, 
so  closely  connected  with  the  party  that  had  so  merci- 
lessly disregarded  her  feelings,  deemed  it  prudent  to 
quit   the    capital.^      In   Kyle,    in  Ayrshire,   the    most 

1  See  Appendix  D,  Knox  a?id  the  Rizzio  Murder. 

2  Philippson,  iii.  223. 

^  Works,  n.  526.  The  Diurnal  of  Occurreftts  conisans  the  io\\ov>!\ng 
entry  for  17th  March  1566  :  "John  Knox,  minister  of  Edinburgh,  is  in 
likewyse  depairtit  of  the  said  burgh  at  twa  hours  efternone,  with  ana 
greit  murnyng  of  the  godhe  of  rehgioun." 


THE  SECOND  REVOLUTION  233 

Strenuously  Protestant  district  in  the  country,  he 
seems  to  have  found  a  home  till  the  ensuing 
autumn,  though  even  here  Mary  made  efforts  to 
reach  him.^  Knox  regarded  his  severance  from  his 
congregation  as  exile,  but  he  was  not  without  his  con- 
solations. One  event  especially  must  have  brought 
him  some  cheer  in  the  general  gloom  of  the  situation. 
The  district  of  Carrick,  in  Ayrshire,  had  hitherto  been 
as  notable  a  stronghold  of  the  old  religion  as  Kyle  had 
been  of  the  new.  During  Knox's  sojourn  in  the  west, 
however,  Carrick  also  was  gained  for  Protestantism  in 
unexpected  fashion.  The  lord  of  the  district,  the  re- 
doubtable Earl  of  Cassillis,"  married  a  Protestant  wife, 
the  sister  of  Lord  Glammis,  "by  whose  persuasion," 
we  are  told,  he  embraced  the  new  faith,  and  set  him- 
self with  vigour  to  bring  all  his  neighbourhood  to  his 
own  way  of  thinking.^ 

It  was  during  this  period,  as  has  been  said,  that 
Knox  may  have  wrought  up  his  notes  for  the  fourth 
book  of  his  History  of  the  Reformation.  The  preface 
to  that  book,  at  least,  was  certainly  written  at  this 
time ;  and  one  passage  shows  us  precisely  what 
thoughts  were  passing  through  his  mind  during 
these  months  of  exile  and  discomfiture.  "  But  from 
whence  (allace)  cumeth  this  miserable  dispersioun  of 
Goddis  people  within  this  Realme,  this  day.  Anno 
1566,  in  Maij  ^.  And  what  is  the  cause  that  now  the 
just  is  compelled  to  keap  silence.^  good  men  ar 
banished,   murtheraris,   and    such    as    ar   knowin    un- 

1  Archbishop  Grindal  to  Bullinger,  17th  August  1566  (Strype's 
Gt'indal,  p.  492  (1821). 

2  This  was  the  Earl  of  Cassillis  who  is  reported  to  have  "  roasted  " 
the  Commendator  of  Crossraguel  in  order  to  secure  the  temporalities  of 
the  Abbey.  The  story,  it  appears,  has  been  greatly  exaggerated. — 
Charters  of  the  Abbey  of  Crossraguel,  p.  i  (50). 

^    Works,  ii.  533. 


234  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

worthie  of  the  commoun  societie  (yf  just  lawis  war 
put  in  deu  executioun),  bear  the  hoill  regiment  and 
swynge  within  this  Realme  ?  We  answere,  Becaus 
that  suddandHe  the  most  parte  of  us  declyned  from  the 
puritie  of  Goddis  word,  and  began  to  follow  the  warld  ; 
and  so  agane  to  schaik  handis  with  the  Devill,  and 
with  idolatrie,  as  in  this  Fourte  Booke  we  will  hear."^ 
As  the  year  1566  wore  on,  signs  were  visible  that 
a  fresh  upturning  was  imminent  in  public  affairs.  Of 
Catholic  and  Protestant,  neither  was  strong  enough 
effectually  to  keep  down  the  other,  and  so  long  as 
they  were  so  nearly  equal  in  strength,  a  stable  govern- 
ment was  an  impossibility.  The  royal  authority  had 
always  been  weak  in  Scotland,  but  in  Mary's  hands 
it  hardly  counted  in  the  strife  of  the  contending 
factions.  The  "  beastly  liberty "  of  the  Scottish 
nobles  (to  use  the  phrase  of  Sir  Ralph  Sadler)  was 
only  kept  in  check  by  the  fear  of  the  decisive  triumph 
of  their  enemies,  which  inevitably  led  to  confiscation 
and  exile.  To  these  constitutional  evils  were  added 
the  uncertainties  arising  from  the  humours  of  a  feminine 
ruler.  Mary's  relation  to  Darnley  had  now  settled  into 
its  final  phase.  She  had  passionately  given  herself 
away  to  him  at  their  first  acquaintance ;  but  between 
two  such  lovers,  both  equally  incapable  of  continuity 
of  feeling,  the  transition  to  jealousy  and  antipathy  was 
as  rapid  as  their  loves.  In  his  miserable  rage  Darnley 
had  cut  off  Rizzio,  in  whom  he  saw  not  a  public 
enemy,  as  was  the  case  of  his  fellow-conspirators,  but 
a  rival  in  the  affections  of  his  wife,  and  the  obstacle  in 
the  way  of  his  boyish  ambition.  For  a  woman  who 
gave  her  affections  so  adventurously  as  Mary,  the 
crime  was    unpardonable,    and    shortly  after    Rizzio's 

1    Works^  ii.  265. 


THE  SECOND  REVOLUTION  235 

death  the  relations  of  the  royal  couple  became  the 
scandal  of  Europe.  Mary  belonged  to  the  type  of 
woman  whose  heart  and  mind  must  be  given  to  the 
keeping  of  another.  Her  new  lover  and  adviser  was, 
in  his  way,  as  strange  a  figure  as  Rizzio  himself. 
Among  the  Scottish  nobles  Bothwell  has  an  indi- 
viduality all  his  own.  He  professed  to  be  a  Protest- 
ant, but  had  consistently  acted  in  the  interests  of  the 
other  party.  Both  to  Mary  and  her  mother  he  had 
given  proofs  that  he  could  be  of  real  service  when 
it  pleased  him ;  but  his  whole  career  proves  that  he 
was  a  born  outlaw  and  incendiary.  With  many  of 
the  Scottish  nobles,  both  Protestant  and  Catholic, 
patriotism  and  religion  were  real  motives,  for  which 
they  ventured  both  life  and  fortune.  To  Bothwell 
such  motives  could  not  present  themselves ;  and  in 
the  career  of  piratical  desperado  to  which  he  took  in 
the  WTeck  of  his  fortunes,  we  have  the  revelation  of 
the  essential  nature  of  the  man.  Through  the  summer 
and  autumn  his  influence  with  Mary  had  steadily 
increased  ;  and  by  the  date  we  have  reached  he  was 
as  powerful  in  the  country  as  any  one  man  could  be 
in  the  existing  state  of  affairs.^ 

But  the  general  situation  was  still  further  com- 
plicated by  the  state  of  the  Protestant  party.  By  the 
flight  of  Morton,  Ruthven,  Lindsay,  and  others,  from 
the  vengeance  of  the  Queen,  the  party  had  lost  for  a 
time  the  majority  of  its  most  powerful  supporters. 
But  a  more  serious,  because  more  permanent,  source 
of  weakness  was  the  fact  that  in  their  extremity  they 
could  not  count  on  the  support  of  Elizabeth  as  they 
had  confidently  supposed.  In  their  late  contest  with 
Mary,  Elizabeth  had  not  only  refused  her  support  to 

1  Cf.  Mignet,  1.  266,  note. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 


the  rebel  lords,  but  had  put  a  public  affront  on  their 
leader  Moray.^  It  had  been  their  hope  that  if  things 
came  to  the  worst  they  would  have  such  help  from  Eliza- 
beth as  had  formerly  made  united  action  possible  to  the 
Protestant  leaders.  Now  that  it  was  seen  that  Eliza- 
beth used  them  only  to  her  own  purposes,  this  union 
was  at  an  end,  and  thenceforward  there  was  a  division 
in  their  ranks  which  was  never  permanently  closed 
during  the  remaining  years  of  Knox.  Moray  and 
Morton  still  continued  to  believe  that  Elizabeth  really 
meant  them  well,  and  held  consistently  by  their  former 
policy.  On  the  other  hand  Argyle,^  Ruthven,  Boyd 
— to  name  only  the  chief  men — are  found  more  often 
than  not  in  open  hostility  to  their  ancient  associates. 
Such  was  the  state  of  affairs  in  the  autumn  of  1566  : 
the  situation  had  in  fact  become  impossible  ;  constitu- 
tional means  of  setting  it  right  did  not  exist,  and  in 
Scotland  there  was  a  traditional  method  of  cutting  the 
knot  in  cases  of  peculiar  emergency. 

As  affairs  stood  towards  the  close  of  the  year,  the 
way  was  once  more  open  for  Knox's  return  to  Edin- 
burgh. Bothwell  was  the  most  powerful  man  at  Court, 
and  Bothwell  was  a  Protestant,  and  had  been  the  feudal 
superior  of  Knox's  family.  From  Mary,  therefore, 
Knox  had  no  longer  anything  to  fear.  In  the  begin- 
ning of  September  he  appears  to  have  been  in  St. 
Andrews,  as  his  name  is  attached  to  a  letter  in  which  the 
Scottish  ministers  expressed  their  approval  of  a  Con- 
fession of  Faith  which  had  been  sent  to  them  by  Beza;  ^ 

1  This  is  implied  even  in  Knox's  reference  to  the  interview  between 
Elizabeth  and  Moraj'. —  Works^  ii.  513. 

-  Argyle  was  specially  indignant  at  Elizabeth's  treatment  of  the 
Scottish  Protestants. — Philippson,  iii.  199,  200. 

"^  Works,  vi.  544-550.  He  apparently  was  in  Edinburgh  in  Sep- 
tember.— Town  Council  Records,  25th  September  .1566. 


THE  SECOND  REVOLUTION  i^-j 

and  in  December  we  find  him  in  Edinburgh,  taking 
part  in  an  Assembly  which  met  under  circumstances 
that  must  have  taxed  its  collective  wisdom. 

What  now  exercised  Knox  and  his  brethren  was 
the  equivocal  attitude  of  the  Queen  towards  the  two 
religions.  At  three  successive  meetings  of  the  Privy 
Council  decrees  had  been  passed  in  the  highest  degree 
favourable  to  the  ministers.^  In  consideration  of  their 
pressing  need  special  bounties,  in  the  shape  of  money 
and  victuals,  had  been  assigned  to  them.  But  it  was  the 
fundamental  doctrine  of  the  Scottish  Reformers  that 
each  congregation  should  support  its  own  minister. 
The  Assembly,  therefore,  looked  on  the  gifts  with 
suspicion,  but,  apparently  after  some  hesitation, 
agreed  to  accept  them  in  view  of  the  existing  state 
of  the  country.'-^  Coming  from  the  source  it  did,  the 
bounty  was  in  itself  suspicious  ;  but  another  act  of  the 
Queen  proved  how  little  encouragement  was  to  be 
drawn  from  it.  On  the  23rd  of  December  the  Arch- 
bishop of  St.  Andrews  was  restored  to  full  consistorial 
jurisdiction,  contrary  alike  to  the  Acts  of  1560  and  to 
the  Queen's  own  express  pledge  on  her  return  from 
France.  This  was  the  most  daring  step  that  Mary 
had  yet  taken  in  favour  of  her  own  Church,  and  it 
filled  Knox  with  consternation  and  dismay.  What 
the  step  meant  became  apparent  a  few  months  later  ;  ^ 
but  it  now  seemed  to  threaten  the  return  of  the  whole 
monstrous  brood  that  had  been  swept  from  the  country 
six  years   before.     To   Knox  the  Assembly  entrusted 

1  These  Acts  of  the  Privy  Council  will  be  found  in  Peterkin's  Booke 
of  the  Uitiversall  Kirk,  pp.  93-96. 

2  Ibid.  pp.  46,  47.  ' 

3  The  only  act  of  the  Archbishop  after  his  reinstatement  was  "  to 
confirm  the  sentence  of  nullity  of  marriage  between  Bothwell  and  his 
Countess." — Bellesheim,  Catholic  Chicj-ch  in  Scotland,  iii.  109,  Trans- 
lator's note. 


238  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

the  task  of  waking  the  Protestant  nobles  to  a  sense 
of  the  terrible  danger  that  menaced  them.  Knox  not 
only  did  what  he  was  asked,  but  added  an  epistle 
general  of  his  own  in  which  he  addressed  the  whole 
Protestant  community  on  the  alarming  nature  of  the 
situation.  As  a  veteran  pamphleteer  he  puts  in  a 
glaring  light  the  equivocal  action  of  Mary.  "  And 
yet,"  he  exclaims,  "  we  have  heard  that  a  certaine 
summe  of  money  and  victuals  should  be  assigned  by 
the  Queen's  Majestie  for  sustentation  of  our  Ministrie. 
But  how  that  any  such  assignation,  or  any  promise 
made  thereof,  can  stand  in  any  stable  assurance,  when 
that  Roman  Antichrist  (by  just  laws  once  banished 
from  this  Realme)  shall  be  intrused  above  us,  we  can 
no  wise  understand."  ^ 

Possibly  at  his  own  suggestion  the  Assembly  further 
imposed  on  Knox  what  must  have  been  a  congenial 
duty.  In  England  men  whom  he  may  have  known 
in  Geneva  were  now  being  deprived  of  their  ecclesias- 
tical functions,  for  objecting  to  the  use  of  "  surplice, 
corner-cap,  and  tippet."  As  ardently  sharing  these 
antipathies,  Knox  must  have  heard  with  some  in- 
dignation of  the  treatment  these  men  were  receiving. 
At  the  bidding  of  the  Assembly,  therefore,  he  addressed 
a  letter  to  the  pastors  and  bishops  of  England,  in  which 
in  the  name  of  the  Reformed  Scottish  Church  he 
besought  them  to  deal  tenderly  with  the  consciences 
of  their  brethren."  What  gave  this  matter  an  ad- 
ditional interest  for  Knox  was  the  fact  that  at  this 
time  he  had  resolved  to  visit  England  in  person.  His 
two  sons,  now  respectively  nine  and  ten  years  of  age, 
were  with    their  mother's    relatives   in    the   North   of 

1    Works^  ii.  542. 
2  Booke  of  the  Universall  Kirk,  p.  49. 


THE  SECOND  REVOLUTION  239 

England.  Mainly  to  see  them,  but  doubtless,  also,  to 
renew  old  intimacies  in  Berwick  and  elsewhere,  he 
demanded  permission  of  the  Assembly  for  leave  of 
absence  from  his  duties  in  Edinburgh.  Permission 
was  cordially  granted,  but  on  the  strict  understanding 
that  he  should  be  again  at  his  post  in  June  of  the 
following  year,  the  date  of  the  next  meeting  of 
Assembly.  In  accordance  with  custom  he  was  supplied 
with  an  eloquent  testimonial  to  his  talents  and  services 
from  the  superintendents,  commissioners,  and  ministers 
of  the  kirk.^ 

What  parts  of  England  he  visited  during  his  so- 
journ is  not  recorded  ;  but  we  can  hardly  be  wrong  in 
supposing  that  the  greater  part  of  the  time  was  spent 
at  Berwick-on- Tweed.  There  probably  was  the 
residence  of  his  children,  and  to  that  town  of  all 
England  he  was  bound  by  the  strongest  ties  of  ancient 
friendship.  In  Berwick,  it  would  seem,  the  seed  he 
had  sown  sixteen  years  before  must  have  borne 
abundant  fruit,  to  which  his  labours  on  this  occasion 
may  have  given  still  greater  increase.  Eighteen  years 
later,  the  diarist,  James  Melville,  bore  emphatic 
testimony  to  the  godly  dispositions  of  the  town. 
"  Trewlie,"  he  says,  "  I  fand  sic  fectfull  professioun 
of  trew  Christianitie  in  Bervik,  as  I  haid  never  sein 
the  lyke  in  Scotland.""  At  Dieppe  we  have  seen  that 
the  preaching  of  Knox  for  a  few  months  influenced 
the  history  of  Protestantism  in  France.  In  Berwick 
he  had  also  been  the  first  to  preach  the  new  doctrines ; 
and,  as  it  would  seem,  with  such  effect  that  he  gave 
a  permanent  direction  to  the  religious  feeling  of  the 
town. 

^  Booke  of  the  Universall  Kirk^  p.  4  8 . 
2  James  Melville,  Diaty^  P-  119  (Ban.  Club). 


240  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

While  Knox  was  in  England,  events  were  happen- 
ing in  his  own  country  which  were  to  restore  his 
former  importance  in  public  affairs,  and  were  to  end 
in  the  definitive  establishment  of  Protestantism  and 
the  final  overthrow  of  the  ancient  religion.  During 
these  months  Darnley  was  murdered  (loth  February)  ; 
Mary  was  married  to  Bothwell  (15th  May);  and  a 
section  of  the  nobles,  Catholic  and  Protestant,  took  up 
arms  against  the  royal  pair,  and  imprisoned  Mary  in 
Lochleven  Castle  on  the  i6th  of  June.  For  Knox  and 
Protestantism  the  significance  of  these  events  was 
their  influence  on  the  intelligent  opinion  of  the  country. 
At  the  point  to  which  Scotland  had  now  come,  its 
destinies  were  no  longer  in  the  hands  of  a  few  power- 
ful nobles.^  Whether  consciously  or  unconsciously, 
the  Protestant  preachers  had  spent  their  labours  in  the 
very  direction  which  was  to  lead  to  the  triumph  of 
their  cause.  From  the  beginning  it  had  been  the 
special  aim  of  Knox  to  gain  the  great  towns  to  the 
new  opinions,  and  by  the  date  at  which  we  have 
arrived  his  endeavours  had  been  largely  crowned  with 
success.  '  Edinburgh,  Perth,  Dundee,  St.  Andrews, 
Glasgow,  and  Ayr,  all  were  decidedly  Protestant  in 
their  sympathies.  By  the  sensational  events  of  the 
last  few  months  the  labours  of  the  ministers  had  been 
powerfully  seconded.  The  belief  was  almost  universal 
that  Mary  had  a  share  in  the  murder  of  her  husband  ; 
and  her  marriage  with  Bothwell,  who  was  certainly 
known  to  have  been  a  ringleader  in  the  deed,  shocked 
even  the  coarsest  feelings  of  that  coarse  age.  Many 
quiet  citizens  who  had  hesitated  between  religion  and 

1  The  words  of  Killigrew,  the  English  resident  in  Scotland,  may  be 
again  quoted.  Writing  to  Burleigh,  iith  November  1572,  he  says: 
"  Methinks  I  see  the  noblemen's  credit  decay  in  this  country ;  and  the 
barons,  burrows,  and  such-like  take  more  upon  them." 


THE  SECOND  REVOLUTION  241 

loyalty  must  now  once  for  all  have  had  their  course 
made  clear  to  them.  At  a  later  date,  as  we  shall  see, 
the  misfortunes  of  Mary  wrought  a  certain  revulsion 
of  feeling,  which,  working  with  other  causes,  prolonged 
the  struggle  with  the  new  order.  The  majority  of  the 
nobles,  Catholic  and  Protestant,  combined  in  her 
interests  ;  yet,  strenuous  as  were  the  efforts  they  made, 
they  had  to  do  battle  with  a  force  as  elusive  as  it  was 
irresistible.  The  few  lords  who  stood  by  the  Pro- 
testant cause,  by  the  mere  support  of  intelligent  public 
sympathy,  eventually  carried  Scotland  with  them  in 
the  revolution  which  had  been  imperfectly  achieved 
by  the  Treaty  of  Edinburgh. 

In  the  new  turn  of  affairs  the  meeting  of  the 
General  Assembly  on  25th  June  was  an  event  of 
prime  importance.  Mary  was  in  prison,  and  Edin- 
burgh was  in  the  hands  of  a  few  Protestant  nobles, 
of  whom,  as  Moray  was  abroad,  the  Earl  of  Morton 
was  the  leading  spirit.  Though  Morton  and  his 
party  seemed  to  have  gained  an  easy  victory,  their 
position  was  in  the  highest  degree  precarious.  The 
large  majority  of  the  Protestant  leaders,  Chatelherault,^ 
Argyle,  and  Huntly,  among  the  rest,  stood  out  for  the 
Queen,  and  only  waited  an  opportunity  for  striking  a 
blow  in  her  favour.  What  was  to  be  done  with  Mary 
was  a  further  question  which  could  hardly  fail  to  create 
a  fresh  division  in  the  ranks  of  her  enemies.  For  a 
few  Protestant  Lords  to  call  a  meeting  of  Estates  was 
out  of  the  question,  and  as  the  next  best  shift  they  had 
recourse  to  the  General  Assembly,  on  whose  support 
they  could  securely  count.  At  such  a  crisis  Knox  was 
not  likely  to  be  wanting,  and  he  duly  made  his  appear- 
ance in  Edinburgh  for  the  Assembly  of  25th  June. 

^   He  was  at  this  time  in  France. 
VOL.  II  i6 


242  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

From  the  split  in  the  ranks  of  the  Protestants,  the 
Assembly  ^  was  necessarily  a  meagre  one,  and  its  chief 
business  was  to  decide  that  another  meeting  should  be 
held  on  the  26th  of  July  following."  As  the  ministers 
were  aware,  the  very  existence  of  their  Church  de- 
pended on  the  success  of  the  friendly  lords  :  to  win 
over  the  other  Protestant  chiefs,  therefore,  was  an 
object  for  which  they  were  bound  to  strain  every 
nerve.  By  order  of  the  Assembly  a  letter  was  addressed 
to  these  lords,  and  signed  by  Knox  and  five  others,  in 
which  every  argument  was  used  that  might  work  on  the 
interest  and  sympathy  of  any  honest  supporter  of  the 
reformed  religion.  That  no  means  should  be  untried, 
the  same  six  signatories  were  charged  to  confer  in 
person  with  their  refractory  brethren — Knox  being 
entrusted  to  deal  with  those  in  the  parts  of  the  West.^ 

Four  days  before  the  meeting  of  the  Assembly 
Knox  returned  to  Edinburgh.  From  the  circum- 
stances in  which  it  met  and  the  affairs  with  which 
it  had  to  deal,  this  was  the  most  important  Assembly 
of  the  Church  that  had  yet  been  called.  Hitherto,  at 
each  critical  juncture,  as  in  1560  and  1563,  it  had  been 
overshadowed  by  the  simultaneous  meeting  of  the 
Estates.  On  this  occasion  there  could  be  no  meeting  of 
the  Estates,  and  the  Assembly  must  be  the  sole  ex- 
ponent of  the  desires  and  aims  of  the  party  that  for  the 
time  was  in  the  ascendent.  The  matter  on  which  it  had 
to  decide  was  no  less  than  the  fate  of  the  hereditary 
sovereign  of  the  country,  and  the  settlement  of  the 
future  government  of  the  nation.  So  fraught  with 
dangerous  consequences  did   this  Assembly   threaten 

1  George  Buchanan  was  its  Moderator. 

2  Booke  of  the  Universall  Kirk,  p.  55. 

3  Throgmorton  to  Elizabeth,  14th  July  1567. — Stevenson,  Illustra- 
tions of  the  Reign  of  Queen  Mary,  p.  208. 


THE  SECOND  REVOLUTION  243 

to  be,  that  by  the  express  order  of  his  mistress, 
Throgmorton,  the  EngHsh  agent  in  Scotland,  did  his 
utmost  to  stay  its  meeting.^  On  Knox's  arrival  in 
Edinburgh,  Throgmorton  at  once  sought  an  interview 
in  the  hope  of  gaining  him  over.  Throgmorton  was 
an  old  acquaintance  of  Knox,"  and  formerly  at  least 
had  a  good  opinion  of  him.  At  this  juncture,  how- 
ever, there  could  be  no  common  understanding  be- 
tween them.  Elizabeth  had  every  reason  to  fear 
and  dislike  Mary,  but  that  subjects  should  dethrone 
and  judge  their  sovereign  was  sacrilege  which  left 
her  no  course  but  to  become  the  champion  of  the 
Scottish  Queen — as  far  as  prudence  would  allow.  To 
carry  out  this  policy  was  now  Throgmorton's  chief 
mission  in  Scotland ;  but  to  Knox  his  arguments 
seemed  the  mere  promptings  of  that  worldly  wisdom 
of  which  he  had  seen  such  evil  fruits  during  all  the 
years  since  Mary's  return. 

Never,  indeed,  had  Knox's  course  been  clearer 
to  him  than  now.  At  length,  the  woman  who  had 
been  the  sole  obstacle  in  the  way  of  national  salvation 
had  been  delivered  into  their  hands.  By  the  people's 
will,  he  held,  the  true  religion  had  been  established 
in  the  country,  and  surrounded  with  every  legal 
sanction.  From  the  moment  of  her  return  Mary 
had  set  herself  to  undo  this  work,  and  to  restore  an 
idolatrous  system  which  involved  the  eternal  ruin  of 
all  who  bowed  the  knee  to  it.  To  Knox,  moreover, 
it  was  easy  to  believe,  and  it  was,  in  truth,  his  im- 
movable conviction,  that  Mary  was  at  once  the 
murderer  of  her  husband  and  the  paramour  of  her 
partner   in   crime.      As   a  common   criminal   and   the 

^   Throgmorton  to  Elizabeth,  14th  July  1567. — Stevenson,  p.  207. 
^  See  above,  p.  162. 


244  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

betrayer  of  her  people,  but  one  judgment  could  be 
meted  to  her.  To  spare  her  would  be  a  mistaken 
mercy  which  must  call  down  the  wrath  of  Heaven 
on  the  nation  that  suffered  crime  and  idolatry  to  pass 
unpunished  in  its  midst. 

Daily  from  his  pulpit  Knox  harangued  the  people 
on  the  burning  question  of  the  day.^  The  English 
alliance  and  the  condign  punishment  of  Mary — on 
these  two  themes  he  concentrated  all  the  vehemence 
of  his  zeal,  so  long  baffled,  but  now,  as  it  seemed, 
at  last  in  sight  of  its  end.  When  the  Assembly 
met,  it  was  found  that  the  large  majority  of  the 
Protestant  Lords  had  not  responded  to  the  appeal 
which  had  been  made  to  them, — four  earls  and  five 
lords  alone  representing  the  higher  nobility.^  As  far 
as  its  influence  went,  however,  the  proceedings  of 
the  Assembly  were  all  that  Knox  could  wish.  Mary 
was  found  to  have  forfeited  the  crown,  and  a  temporary 
authority  was  to  be  set  up  in  the  name  of  her  son. 
The  Acts  of  1560  establishing  the  new  religion  were 
confirmed,  with  the  pledge  on  the  part  of  the  lords, 
that  at  the  next  meeting  of  the  Estates  the  civil 
power  should  renew  its  assent  to  all  the  laws  that 
had  been  passed  in  favour  of  the  ministers  and  the 
poor.^ 

At  no  period  since  his  return  to  Scotland  had 
Knox  been  so  important  a  person  as  now.  In  the 
action  taken  by  the  confederate  lords  it  was  to 
Protestant  opinion  they  looked,  and  to  Knox  beyond 
every  other  man,  for  securing  that  opinion.  A  few 
days  after  -the  Assembly  rose,  he  was  called  to  take 

1  Throgmorton  to  Elizabeth,  21st  July  1567. — Stevenson,  p.  240. 
-  Booke  of  the  Universall  Kirk,  pp.  68,  69. 
^  Ibui.  pp.  65-68. 


THE  SECOND  REVOLUTION  245 

part  in  a  proceeding  which  one  day  might  endanger 
his  head,  or  drive  him  from  Scotland  for  the  rest  of 
his  hfe.  On  the  29th  of  July  the  young  prince  was 
crowned  at  Stirling,  and  Knox,  as  the  chief  of  the 
ministers,  was  appointed  to  preach  the  coronation 
sermon.  No  account  of  the  sermon  has  been  pre- 
served ;  but  George  Buchanan,  who  may  have  been 
among  the  audience,  describes  it  as  an  "excellent 
discourse."^  One  part  of  the  ceremonial — the  act  of 
anointing — did  not  meet  his  approval  as  being  a  weak 
concession  to  popish  frivolity."  Nevertheless,  in  that 
day's  proceedings  he  must  have  seen  the  fair  be- 
ginnings of  a  work,  which,  if  it  should  prosper,  would 
by  ways  the  most  unexpected  realise  all  the  prayers 
of  himself  and  his  brethren. 

To  maintain  the  new  government  was  now  the 
work  to  which  Knox  addressed  himself  with  all  his 
might.  In  Edinburgh  he  found  a  ready  response, 
as  there  the  prince's  coronation  was  signalised  by 
"dauncynges  and  acclamacyouns."  ^  But  a  large  part 
of  the  Protestant  nobility  still  stood  aloof,  and  without 
their  co-operation  the  country  could  look  only  for 
new  distractions  of  which  it  was  impossible  to  pre- 
dict the  end.  By  Knox,  therefore,  the  return  of 
Moray,"*  and  his  appointment  as  Regent  on  the  22nd 
of  August,  was  welcomed  as  the  happiest  event  that 

1  *'  Mr.  Knox  preached,  and  tooke  a  place  of  the  Scripture  forthe 
of  the  bookes  of  the  Kinges,  where  Joas  was  crowned  verye  yonge, 
to  treate  on."  Throgmorton  to  EHzabeth,  31st  July  1567. — Stevenson, 
p.  257. 

-  "  Mr.  Knox  and  other  preachers  repyned  at  the  ceremonie  of 
anointing,  yitt  was  he  anointed"  (Calderwood,  ii.  384).  As  repre- 
sentative of  the  Church,  Knox  was  empowered  to  ask  "  acts "  and 
"instruments"  in  connection  with  the  coronation. — Keith,  ii.  723. 

^  Stevenson,  p.  258. 

^  Moray  arrived  in  Edinburgh  on  the  iith  of  August. — Stevenson, 
p.  272. 


246  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

could  befall  the  country.  The  temporary  breach 
between  them  had  been  healed  before  Moray's  flight 
to  England,  and  thenceforward  they  worked  into  each 
other's  hands  with  undivided  aims.  With  Mary  no 
longer  to  distract  him,  Moray  addressed  himself  to 
the  work  of  government  in  the  very  spirit  of  Knox. 
He  sought,  says  Throgmorton,  "  to  imytate  rather 
some  which  have  led  the  people  of  Israeli  than  anye 
capytayne  of  our  age."  ^ 

The  result  of  their  united  labours  was  seen  in 
the  Parliament  which  met  on  the  15th  of  December. 
So  strong  had  Moray  then  become  that  the  chief 
earls  and  barons,  Catholic  as  well  as  Protestant, 
deemed  it  prudent  in  their  own  interest  to  put  in 
an  appearance.  Knox  preached  the  opening  sermon, 
and  in  the  proceedings  that  followed,  all  that  he 
had  laboured  for  received  the  imprimatur  of  the 
Estates.  In  accordance  with  the  pledge  made  to 
the  Assembly  of  July,  the  Acts  of  1560  were  confirmed, 
and  commissioners  (Knox  being  one  of  them)  were 
appointed  to  ascertain  with  precision  "  the  jurisdictioun, 
privilege,  and  authoritie  of  the  said  Kirke."^  In  these 
circumstances  the  Assembly  that  met  a  few  days  later 
(25th  December)  had  no  great  duties  to  perform.  If 
things  only  went  as  they  were  going,  all  would  be 
well.  Meanwhile  the  present  duty  of  the  Church 
was  to  rouse  a  spirit  in  the  country  that  would  ensure 
the  continuance  of  the  existing  government ;  and, 
doubtless  with  this  in  view,  Knox  was  deputed  to 
visit  the  various  congregations  between  Stirling  and 
Berwick,^   and    afterwards    to    proceed    to    Ayrshire. 

^   Stevenson,  p.  282. 

2  The  Act  will  be  found  in  Keith,  iii.  185,  note. 

2  Calderwood,  ii.  394. 


THE  SECOND  REVOLUTION  247 

With  the  same  purpose  the  Assembly  wrote  to 
John  Willock,  then  in  England,  to  request  his  speedy 
return  to  help  in  the  good  work.  "  Our  enemeis, 
praised  be  God,"  they  wrote,  "are  dashed;  religioun 
established  ;  sufficient  provisioun  made  for  ministers ; 
order  takin,  and  penaltie  appointed  for  all  sort  of 
transgressioun  and  transgressers ;  and  above  all,  a 
godlie  magistrat,  whom  God,  of  his  eternall  and 
heavenlie  providence,  hath  reserved  to  this  age,  to 
putt  in  executioun  whatsoever  He  by  his  law  com- 
mandeth."^ 

The  victory  was  by  no  means  so  assured  as  the 
Assembly  gave  out,  and  in  the  midst  of  his  ceaseless 
labours  Knox  longed  for  the  quiet  of  his  old  home  in 
Geneva.^  Between  foreign  and  domestic  enemies  the 
danger  was  imminent  that  Moray  would  not  be  long 
able  to  hold  his  own.  In  itself  the  act  of  dethroning  a 
lawful  monarch  was  a  defiance  to  every  ruler  in  Europe, 
and  on  this  point,  France,  Spain,  and  England  were 
agreed.^  The  hope  of  Moray  was  that  the  old 
jealousies  and  fears  would  still  be  strong  enough  to 
prevent  the  common  action  of  these  countries  in  Mary's 
favour,  and  in  this,  as  the  event  proved,  he  was  not 
deceived.  Strangely  enough  his  most  formidable  enemy 
for  the  moment  was  the  Queen  of  England,  who,  in 
her  wrath  against  those  whom  she  considered  mere 
rebels,  openly  countenanced  the  supporters  of  Mary. 

^  Calderwood,  ii.  399. 

2  Knox  to  John  Wood,  14th  February  1568. —  Works^  vi.  559. 

3  Thus,  Catharine  de'  Medici,  writing  to  Ehzabeth  (26th  May  1568), 
says  that  they  ought  to  assist  the  Queen  of  Scots  against  her  rebel 
subjects  :  "  D'autan  que  cecy  nous  touche  k  tous,  et  que  nous  debuions 
ambrasser  le  faict  et  protection  de  cette  royne  desolee  et  affligee,  pour 
la  remectre  en  sa  liberte  et  en  Fauctorite  que  Dieu  luy  a  donne,  et 
laquelle  de  droict  et  equite  luy  appartient,  et  non  h.  autre." — Anderson, 
Collections,  vol.  iv.  part  i.  p.  45. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 


As  he  knew  Cecil  to  be  his  friend,  however,  Moray 
believed  that  Elizabeth  must  in  the  end  be  convinced 
that  the  deposition  of  Mary  was  the  most  fortunate  event 
that  could  have  happened  for  England.  At  home,  the 
whole  Hamilton  faction  detested  the  Regent  as  the 
supplanter  of  the  head  of  their  house,  and  a  permanent 
enemy  to  the  claims  of  their  family.  By  the  attitude 
of  Elizabeth,  also,  the  disaffected  Protestant  chiefs 
were  more  convinced  than  ever  that  the  Regent  was 
engaged  in  a  hopeless  battle  which,  sooner  or  later, 
could  end  only  in  one  way. 

In  the  course  of  the  following  year  (1568)  the 
dangers  that  threatened  Moray  came  to  an  unexpected 
head.  On  the  2nd  of  May  the  Queen  escaped  from 
Lochleven,  and  within  a  few  days  was  surrounded  by 
three-fourths  of  her  nobility.  In  their  consternation 
the  ministers  at  once  decreed  a  public  fast ;  and  in  his 
own  name  Knox  addressed  a  general  letter  to  all  the 
faithful  in  the  country.^  This,  he  wrote,  was  the  result 
of  misplaced  mercy  in  sparing  a  woman  who  by 
God's  law  should  have  died  the  death  of  murderers 
and  adulterers.  In  the  horrors  that  would  now  be  let 
loose  on  the  land  they  would  suffer  just  retribution  for 
the  sinful  remissness  of  their  lukewarm  faith.  The 
worst  fears  of  Knox  were  not  realised.  Within  a 
fortnight  after  her  escape  from  Lochleven  the  forces  of 
Mary  were  beaten  at  Langside,  and  she  herself  was  a 
fugitive  seeking  the  tender  mercies  of  Elizabeth.  For 
the  moment  the  triumph  of  Moray  was  complete,  but  his 
enemies  were  too  many  and  too  powerful  to  leave  him 
long  at  peace.      From  a  letter  of  Knox,  dated  the  loth 


^  Though  this  letter  appeared  in  the  name  of  Spottiswoode,  Superin- 
tendent of  Lothian,  Calderwood  is  certainly  right  in  assigning  it  to 
Knox  (ii.  481). 


>|'/'.  }>ev--^'^-'"v-y^  ■"wX--^'^'y^  /'^/y/y^'^ 


^''  A^l?-^ 


rr^-^.kK^Au^ 


^^:mM 


-    ^.--^ 


LETTER 


OF   KNOX  TO  SIR  WILLLVM  DOUGLAS  OF  LOCHLEVEN 


THE  SECOND  REVOLUTION  249 

of  September,  we  have  an  interesting  glimpse  into 
his  own  state  of  mind  in  relation  to  public  affairs. 
"We  looke  dailie  for  the  arrivall  of  the  Duke^  and  his 
Frenchemen,  sent  to  restore  Satan  to  his  kingdome,  in 
the  persone  of  his  deerest  lieutenant,  sent,  I  say,  to 
represse  religioun,  not  from  the  King  of  France,  but 
from  the  Cardinall  of  Lorane  in  favour  of  his  deerest 
neice,  Lett  England  take  heed,  for  assuredlie  their 
nighbours  houses  are  on  fire.  I  would,  deere  Brother, 
that  ye  sould  travell  with  zealous  men  that  they  may 
consider  our  estate.  What  I  would  say  yee  may 
easilie  conjecture.  Without  support  we  are  not  able 
to  resist  the  force  of  the  domesticall  enemies  (unlesse 
God  worke  meraculouslie),  muche  lesse  are  we  able  to 
stand  against  the  puissance  of  France,  the  substance  of 
the  Pope,  and  the  malice  of  the  house  of  Gwise,  unless 
we  be  conforted  be  others  than  by  ourselves.  Yee 
know  our  estate,  and  therefore  I  will  not  insist  to  deplore 
our  povertie.  The  whole  comfort  of  the  enemies  is  this, 
that  be  treasoun  or  other  meanes  they  may  cutt  off  the 
Regent,  and  then  cutt  the  throat  of  the  innocent  King. 
How  narrowlie  hathe  the  Regent  escaped  once,  I 
suppose  yee  have  heard.  As  their  malice  is  not 
quenched,  so  ceasseth  not  the  practice  of  the  wicked 
to  put  in  execution  the  crueltie  devised.  I  live  as  a 
man  alreadie  deid  from  all  affairs  civill,  and  therefore 
I  praise  my  God  ;  for  so  I  have  some  quietnesse  in 
spirit,  and  time  to  meditat  upon  death  and  upon  the 
troubles  I  have  long  feared  and  foresee." " 

The  uncertainty  of  the  future  may  partly  explain 
this  tone  of  despondency,  but  the  truth  seems  to  be  that 
his  old  energy  was  rapidly  failing,  and  that    he  was 

^   Chatelherault,  who  was  at  this  time  in  France. 
2  Knox  to  John  Wood,  loth  September  1568. —  Works^  vi.  561. 


2  50  LIFE   OF  JOHN  KNOX 

no  longer  equal  to  the  calls  that  were  made  upon  him. 
Henceforward  his  duties  as  minister  of  his  congre- 
gation appear  to  have  taxed  all  the  force  that  still 
remained  to  him.  It  was  with  an  effort  that  he  even 
kept  up  correspondence  with  friends  whose  attach- 
ment he  specially  valued.  In  another  letter  that  has 
been  preserved,  we  have  the  expression  of  an  utter 
weariness,  of  those  "hopes  all  flat,"  which  are  apt  to 
come  in  old  age  to  men  of  his  type.  "  Yit,"  he  writes, 
"have  I  negligentlie  pretermitted  all  office  of  humanitie 
toward  you,  wherinto  I  acknowledge  my  offense.  For 
albeit  I  have  beene  tossed  with  manie  stormes,  all  the 
time  before  expressed,  yit  might  I  have  gratified  you 
and  others  faithfull,  with  some  remembrance  of  my 
estate,  if  that  this  my  churlish  nature,  for  the  moste 
part  oppressed  with  melancholie,  had  not  stayed  tongue 
and  penne  from  doing  of  their  duetie.  Yea,  even  now, 
when  I  wold  somwhat  satisfie  your  desire,  I  find 
within  myself  no  small  repugnance.  For  this  I  find 
objected  to  my  wretched  heart :  '  Foolish  man !  what 
seekes  thou  in  writting  of  missives  in  this  corruptible 
age!  Hath  thou  not  a  full  satietie  of  all  the  vanities 
under  the  sunne !  Hath  not  thy  eldest  and  stoutest 
acquaintance  buried  thee  in  present  oblivion,  and  are 
not  thou  in  that  estate  by  age  that  nature  itself  calleth 
thee  from  the  pleasures  of  things  temporall }  Is  it 
not  then  more  than  foolishnesse  unto  thee  to  hunt  for 
acquaintance  on  the  earth,  of  what  estate  or  condition 
so  ever  the  persons  be  ? '  "  ^ 

The  severest  trial  of  Knox's  life  came  to  him  in 
these  years  of  weariness  and  depression.  The  Regent 
Moray,  on  whose  life  humanly  speaking  the  future  of 
the  Reformed  Church  seemed  to  depend,  was  assassin- 

^'  Knox  to  a  Friend  in  England,  19th  August  1569. —  Works,  vi.  566. 


THE  SECOND  REVOLUTION  251 

ated  on  the  23rd  of  January  1570.  For  Knox,  alike 
on  public  and  private  grounds,  the  loss  of  Moray  was 
irreparable.  By  the  strongest  ties  that  bind  men 
to  each  other  —  ancient  friendship,  a  common  faith, 
common  aims,  and  common  fears  —  Knox  was 
bound  to  Moray.  By  Knox,  it  would  seem,  Moray 
had  first  been  led  to  adopt  the  religious  beliefs  to 
which  he  had  remained  consistently  faithful  to  the  last. 
In  the  relation  of  teacher  and  disciple  they  had  lived, 
with  the  exception  of  one  memorable  breach,  for  the 
space  of  eighteen  years,  ^  and  for  a  great  part  of  that 
time  they  had  been  in  daily  intercourse,  interchanging 
the  deepest  thoughts  on  the  highest  matters  that  con- 
cern human  life.  Their  mutual  respect  and  affection 
is,  in  truth,  an  interesting  testimony  to  the  character 
and  fundamental  aims  of  each.  Knox's  eulogy  of 
Moray  only  bears  out  what  his  career  leaves  us  no 
room  to  doubt.  Like  Admiral  Coligny,  du  Plessis- 
Mornay,  and  William  of  Orange,  Moray  is  one  of  the 
great  public  characters  fashioned  by  the  Calvinism  of 
the  sixteenth  century.  In  all  of  them  there  is  dis- 
cernible the  same  moderation  and  breadth  of  view, 
the  same  practical  statesmanship,  penetrated  by  pro- 
found religious  feeling.  In  their  judgment  on  the 
essential  trend  of  the  life  and  actions  of  public  men 
the  people  do  not  go  astray  ;  and  it  was  from  a  sure 
instinct  of  his  even  justice,  his  consistent  aims,  and  his 
capacity  as  a  ruler,  that  men  spoke  of  Moray  with 
affection  and  reverence  as  "the  Good  Reo:ent." 

The  news  of  Moray's  death  reached  Knox  on  a 
Saturday,  and  at  the  close  of  his  sermon  on  the 
following    day,    he   gave    vent    to    his    feelings    in    a 

1  They    probably    first    came   together    in    London    in    1552. — Cf, 
Works ^  ii.  382. 


252  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

prayer,  which,  in  its  strange  blending  of  passionate 
grief,  piercing  regret,  and  fervour  of  anathema,  is 
singular  even  among  the  utterances  of  Knox/  Three 
weeks  later  (14th  February),  the  Regent's  body  was 
borne  from  Holyrood  to  St.  Giles's  Church,  and  before 
the  burial  Knox  preached  a  sermon  from  the  text : 
"  Blessed  are  these  that  dee  in  the  Lord."  The  sermon 
has  not  come  down  to  us,  but  Calderwood  has  pre- 
served the  tradition  of  the  preacher's  eloquence : 
"He  moved  three  thowsand  persons  to  shed  teares  for 
the  losse  of  suche  a  good  and  godlie  governour." "" 

1    Works,  vi.  568-570.  -  Calderwood,  ii.  525,  526. 


CHAPTER    IV 

THE    CASTLE    OF    EDINBURGH KNOX    AND    KIRKCALDY 

OF    GRANGE 

1570-1571 

Knox  lived  for  nearly  two  years  after  the  death  of 
Moray,  but  during  these  years,  to  take  him  at  his  own 
word,  he  was  a  "dead  man."^  This,  however,  was 
only  his  vivid  mode  of  expression  ;  and  the  simple 
truth  is  that  to  the  end  he  was  a  centre  of  force  in 
the  country.  The  weary  consent  to  circumstance  that 
sooner  or  later  comes  to  most  men,  never  came  to 
Knox  :  his  sinews  might  wax  feeble,  but  the  attitude 
of  Heaven's  champion  he  could  abandon  only  with 
his  life. 

As  he  now  looked  around  him,  Knox  might  well 
wish  his  mortal  journey  were  done.  Of  all  the  lament- 
able periods  of  Scottish  history  these  years  are  the 
most  lamentable.  Even  with  Moray  at  its  head,  the 
King's  party  had  with  difficulty  held  its  own  ;  but 
with  no  leader  to  fill  his  place  its  prospect  was  so 
unpromising  that  men  who  had  anything  to  lose  made 
haste  to  join  the  other  side.  Not  only  the  Catholic 
nobles  were  ranged  on  the  side  of  Mary  :  the  leading 
Protestants   were    even   more    strenuous   in   their  en- 

1  Last  Will  and  Testament.  Bannatyne,  Memoriales  (Ban.  Club), 
P-  370. 


2  54  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

deavours  to  effect  her  restoration.  The  Hamiltons 
with  the  Duke  as  their  nominal  head,  Argyle,  Huntly, 
Crawford,  Lords  Boyd,  Herries,  Ogilvy,  and  Sir 
James  Balfour,^  all  professedly  Protestant,  upheld  the 
Queen's  authority  in  their  respective  parts  of  the 
country.  Above  all,  the  Queen  had  the  services  of 
Lethington,  who,  now  that  Moray  was  gone,  had 
only  the  formidable  Morton  for  an  equal  adversary. 
Every  day  also  the  opinion  gained  ground  that  Eliza- 
beth would  eventually  make  some  arrangement  which 
would  enable  her  to  restore  the  Scottish  Queen  with 
safety  to  herself."  Against  this  powerful  confederacy 
stood  a  few  Protestant  nobles,  backed  by  the  intelli- 
gent opinion  of  the  country.  In  the  end,  these  nobles 
believed  that  in  her  own  interest  Elizabeth  must  take 
their  side,  since  from  past  experience  she  must  know 
that  by  no  form  of  treaty  could  Mary  be  reinstated  in 
her  kingdom  without  permanent  risk  to  England. 
The  event  proved  that  they  had  reckoned  aright ;  but, 
meanwhile,  in  their  own  strength  they  had  to  maintain 
a  government  in  the  face  of  an  enemy  more  powerful 
than  themselves. 

In  the  coming  struggle  between  the  two  factions, 
Edinburgh  was  the  chief  centre  ;  and  in  Edinburgh 
Knox  made  his  abode  till  May  of  the  following  year. 
The  majority  of  the  well-to-do  citizens  were  staunchly 
Protestant ;  and,  with  an  admiring  congregation  hanging 
upon  his  words,  his  position  had  its  alleviations.  But 
to  be  happy,  as  things  were  around  him,  was  not  in 
Knox's  nature.  Moray  had  hardly  been  in  his  grave, 
when  a  pasquinade  appeared  which  stung  Knox  to  the 
quick.^     In  the  form  of  an  imaginary  conversation  the 

1   Bannatyne,  Memoriales  (Ban.  Club),  p.  39.  -  Ibid.  p.  70. 

'■''  The  author  was  Thomas  Maitland,  a  younger  brother  of  Secretary 


THE  CASTLE  OF  EDINBURGH  255 

writer  represented  six  of  Moray's  friends,  Knox  being 
one  of  them,  as  offering  him  counsel.  The  object  of 
the  writer  was  to  discredit  Moray,  and  to  caricature  the 
distinctive  traits  of  the  different  interlocutors.  So 
cleverly  was  the  thing  done  that  it  passed  as  the  report 
of  an  actual  conversation.  Like  all  men  with  a  mission, 
Knox  keenly  resented  any  ridicule  directed  against 
himself;  but  the  ascription  of  unworthy  motives  to 
Moray  awoke  in  him  all  the  wrath  of  which  he  was 
capable.  In  his  next  sermon  he  drew  attention  to  the 
unhallowed  production,  and  solemnly  declared  that  its 
author  could  only  have  been  the  father  of  lies.  He 
even  ventured  on  a  prediction  as  to  the  end  of  the 
human  instrument  who  had  put  himself  to  such  evil 
uses  :  he  would  die  in  a  strange  land,  and  with  not  a 
friend  by  him  to  hold  up  his  head.  The  story  adds 
that  the  prediction  had  its  fulfilment,  since  the  unhappy 
man  "departed  out  of  this  life  in  Italie,  while  he  was 
Q^oinof  to  Rome."  ^ 

From  the  date  of  Moray's  death  the  centre  of  all 
Knox's  thoughts,  as  it  was  the  centre  of  all  Scottish 
interests,  was  the  Castle  of  Edinburgh.  On  Moray's 
appointment  as  Regent  he  had  entrusted  the  Castle 
to  Kirkcaldy  of  Grange,  as  at  once  an  experienced 
soldier  and  devoted  to  the  Protestant  cause.  Mainly, 
as  was  supposed,  under  the  influence  of  Lethington, 
Grange  had  gone  over  to  Mary,  and  now  openly  held 
the  Castle  in  her  interest.  For  the  next  two  years, 
therefore,  that  stronghold  was  the  resort  of  all  her 
friends,  and  a  constant  check  on  the  action  of  the  party 
of  the  King.     As  we  have  seen,  Grange  was  among  the 

Maitland,   who  appears  in  Buchanan's  dialogue  De  Jure  Regni.     The 
pasquinade  will  be  found  with  slightly  different  readings  in  Calderwood, 
ii.  515,  and  in  Bannatyne's  Memoriales^  p.  5. 
1   Calderwood,  ii.  525. 


256  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

oldest  associates  of  Knox.  They  had  been  together 
in  the  Castle  of  St.  Andrews  during  the  siege  that 
followed  the  murder  of  Cardinal  Beaton  ;  both  had 
been  prisoners  in  France  ;  they  had  continued  their 
intimacy  in  England  ;  and  in  Scotland  they  had  been 
friends  and  fellow-workers  till  Grange's  equivocal  action 
during  the  later  days  of  Moray's  regency.  That  a 
place  so  important  should  be  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy 
was  itself  a  matter  of  the  gravest  concern  ;  but  that 
this  should  be  the  doing  of  his  ancient  co-worker  and 
disciple  was  gall  and  wormwood  to  Knox.  What 
Mary  and  Holyrood  had  been  for  Knox  in  the  past, 
Grange  and  the  Castle  were  to  be  in  the  future — the 
embodiment  of  all  the  powers  that  fought  against 
righteousness  and  truth. 

Of  the  outer  and  inner  life  of  Knox  from  the  open- 
ino-  of  the  year  1570,  we  have  the  faithful  record  in  the 
Memoriales  of  Richard  Bannatyne.^  From  the  date 
of  his  return  to  Scotland,  we  have  seen,  Knox  had 
made  notes  of  the  chief  events  that  happened  in  the 
country.  In  the  fourth  book  of  his  History  we  have 
these  notes  wrought  up  by  his  own  hand,  and  in  the 
fifth  we  have  them  re-cast  by  some  unknown  editor. 
At  the  date  to  which  we  have  now  come,  Knox  still 
continued  his  Diary ;  and  from  the  Memoriales  of 
Bannatyne  we  ascertain  the  manner  in  which  he  kept 
it.  The  book  associated  with  the  name  of  Bannatyne 
contains  passages  partly  written  by  Knox  ;  and  is  in 
its  entirety  the  veritable  expression  of  his  spirit.  As 
the  book  has  come  down  to  us,  we  find  in  it  entries  by 
Knox's  own  hand,  passing  expressions  of  his  opinions, 
and  various  ejaculations,  which  he  threw  upon  paper 
as  they  came  direct  from  his  heart.      Even  in  the  first 

1  Edited  by  Robert  Pitcairn  for  the  Bannatyne  Club  in  1836. 


777^  CASTLE  OF  EDINBURGH  257 

part  of  his  work  we  trace  the  hand  of  Bannatyne  in  a 
feebleness  of  phrase  which  strikingly  contrasts  with  the 
style  of  Knox,  but  in  the  latter  half  it  is  wholly  the 
work  of  the  secretary,  though  writing  under  the  direct 
inspiration  of  his  master.  A  simple  fact  proves  that 
the  work  is  to  be  regarded  as  essentially  the  production 
of  Knox  :  after  his  account  of  his  master's  death, 
Bannatyne  subjoins  a  few  documents,  and  brings  the 
work  to  a  conclusion. 

In  the  pages  of  this  Diary  there  is  a  vividness  and 
consecution  which  give  them  an  interest  fully  equal  to 
the  finished  History.  It  is  the  Castle  and  its  inmates, 
we  see,  that  are  ever  before  the  writer's  eyes.  As  he 
thinks  how  the  cause  of  religion  is  retarded  by  those 
who  had  once  professed  to  be  its  best  friends,  his  self- 
communings  reveal  all  the  bitterness  and  mortification 
of  his  spirit.  Noting  the  influx  into  Edinburgh  of  the 
leaders  of  the  Queen's  party,  he  concludes  the  entry 
with  the  exclamation,  "  Lord,  disclose  treassonabill 
hypocrisie."  ^  On  the  last  day  of  the  disastrous  year 
1570"  he  cries,  "  Lord,  yit  oppone  thy  power  to  thair 
pryde !  And  thus  I  end  this  yeir,  with  a  dolorus 
hart,  the  24  of  Marche  1569.  Lord,  give  thy  spreit  in 
abundance  to  sic  as  it  sail  pleis  the  to  appoynte  to 
write  efter  me  these  thingis  which  I  but  ruidlie 
twiche."^ 

As  yet  the  two  parties  had  not  come  to  actual 
blows,  but  it  was  every  day  more  evident  that  only  the 
sword  could  settle  their  quarrel.  The  appointment  of 
the  Earl  of  Lennox  to  the  Regency  gave  the  occasion 
for  the  friends  of  the  Queen  to  assert  her  claims  by 

1  Bannatyne,  Memoriales^  p.  19. 
-  The  year  then  ended  on  the  24th  March. 
•^  Bannatyne,  p.  22. 
VOL.   II  17 


2  58  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

arms ;    and   for  three    years,    with    some   intervals   of 
truce,  the  struggle  went  on  with  a  ferocity  only  sur- 
passed   in    the    contemporary    civil    wars    of    France. 
From  other  sources  we  know  that  the  following  picture 
of  the  time  is  within  the  limits  of  truth.      "  You  should 
have    seen,"    writes    Spottiswoode,    "fathers    against 
their  sons,  sons  against  their  fathers,  brother  fighting 
against  brother,   nigh   kinsmen   and   others   allied   to- 
gether as  enemies  seeking  one  the  destruction  of  the 
other.     Every  man,  as  his  affection  led  him,  joined  to 
the  one  or  other  party  ;  one  professing  to  be  the  King's 
men,  another  the  Queen's.     The  very  young  ones  scarce 
taught  to  speak  had  these  words  in  their  mouths,  and 
were   sometimes   observed   to  divide  and   have   their 
childish  conflicts  in  that  quarrel.      But  the  condition 
of   Edinburgh  was  of  all  parts  of  the  country  most 
distressed,  they  that  were  of  a  quiet  disposition  and 
greatest    substance    being    forced    to    forsake    their 
houses  ;  which  were  partly  by  the  soldiers,  partly  by 
other  necessitous  people  (who  made  their  profit  of  the 
present  calamities),  rifled  and  abused."  ^     As  he  saw 
the    wild    passions    let    loose    around    him,    did    the 
suspicion  ever  come  to  Knox  that  his  life  might  have 
been  a  mistake  and  his  gospel  after  all  be  a  delusion  ? 
Of  such    a   suspicion    Knox  was  constitutionally   in- 
capable.    To    Luther  there  came  moments  when  he 
looked  back  half  sadly  to  the  Church  he  had  left ;  but 
such    moments,   as   far   as   we   know,    never   came   to 
Knox.     As  it  appeared  to  him,  the  internecine  strife 
raging    around   him   was   simply   a   struggle   between 
God  and  Antichrist,  permitted  in   Providence  for  the 
trial  and  eventual  salvation  of  his  people. 

1   Spottiswoode,    Hist,    of   the  C/iurch    of  Scotland   (Spottiswoode 
See),  ii.  I  58. 


THE  CASTLE  OF  EDINBURGH  259 

In  the  autumn  Knox  received  a  warning  that  as 
far  as  he  was  concerned  the  fight  was  nearing  its  end. 
A  stroke  of  apoplexy  affected  for  a  few  days  "  the 
perfect  use  of  his  tongue."^  The  strange  rumours 
that  went  about  regarding  his  illness  are  sufficient 
testimony  to  his  continued  influence  in  the  country. 
Both  in  Scotland  and  England  it  was  told  with  exul- 
tation "  that  he  was  become  the  most  deformed 
creature  that  ever  was  seine  ;  that  his  face  was  turned 
into  his  necke  ;  that  he  was  dead  ;  that  he  wold  never 
preich  nor  yet  speike."  ^  But  Knox  had  still  two 
years  before  him,  and  a  few  more  battles  to  fight 
before  his  account  should  be  closed  with  his  adver- 
saries. In  a  few  days  he  was  able  to  resume  his 
preaching,  though  thenceforward  his  ministrations  were 
confined  to  Sundays.^ 

In  the  end  of  the  year  Knox  was  led  into  a  con- 
troversy which  proved  that  his  illness  had  neither 
mollified  his  spirit  nor  weakened  his  powers  of  denun- 
ciation. For  a  year  past  the  doings  of  Kirkcaldy  of 
Grange  had  taxed  all  his  powers  of  forbearance  ;  but 
hitherto  for  old  friendship's  sake  he  had  abstained 
from  denouncing  him  in  public.  On  the  night  of  the 
2 1  St  of  December,  however.  Grange  performed  an 
action  which  passed  the  limit  of  Knox's  endurance. 
With  some  of  his  own  followers  from  the  Castle,  aided 
by  the  men  in  the  street,  he  broke  into  the  Tolbooth, 
and  carried  off  a  servant  of  his  own  imprisoned  for  his 
share  in  a  riot  which  had  resulted  in  manslaughter. 
This  open  defiance  of  the  constituted  authority,  and 
by  one  who  had  been  among  the  foremost  supporters 
of  the  good  cause,  gave  Knox  the  occasion  for  which 
he    must    long    have   wished — of  openly    denouncing 

I   Bannatyne,  p.  62.  ^  Ibid.  ^  Ibid. 


26o  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

Grange  for  his  lamentable  apostasy.  On  the  Sunday 
following  he  declared  from  the  pulpit  "  that  in  his 
dayes  he  never  sawe  so  slanderous,  so  malepairte,  so 
fearfull,  and  so  tyrannous  a  fact."  A  report  of  the 
sermon,  that  lost  none  of  its  offensiveness  in  the 
carrying,  was  duly  poured  into  the  ears  of  Grange. 
As  the  words  were  reported  to  him,  he  was  accused  of 
being  "a  murderer  and  a  throatcutter."  Even  from 
his  minister  and  spiritual  father  this  was  not  to  be 
borne,  and  Grange  despatched  a  testy  note  to  Knox's 
colleague,  calling  on  him  to  give  the  charge  a  public 
contradiction  at  the  afternoon  sermon.  Craig,  whose 
other  actions  prove  him  to  have  been  a  prudent 
person,  declined  to  meddle  in  the  dispute.  Not  to  be 
put  off,  Grange  laid  the  case  before  the  kirk-session, 
and  demanded  that  an  apology  should  be  made  as 
publicly  as  the  charge.  The  result  was  a  series  of 
recriminations,  leading  to  nothing,  and  notable  only 
for  the  fact  that  on  Knox's  side  the  controversy  was 
carried  on  in  as  warlike  a  tone  as  that  of  the  fiery 
captain  of  the  Castle.  In  the  end  rumour  even  went 
that  Grange  was  about  to  employ  the  arm  of  flesh, 
since  his  appeal  to  spiritual  authorities  had  failed.  In 
this  belief  Knox's  friends  in  the  West,  who  always 
regarded  him  as  their  special  charge,  wrote  a  letter  to 
Grange,  so  interesting  in  itself  that  it  deserves  to  be 
given  in  full. 

"  Sir,  After  hartlie  commendatioune  in  the  Lord  ; 
Forsameikle  as  into  this  our  Assemblie  at  Ayre,  the 
secund  of  Januare,  we  have  hard  be  report  of  some, 
that  not  only  ye  have  conceived  ane  offence  against 
our  brother  Johne  Knoxe,  but  also  that  ye  are  pur- 
poset  to  injure  him  be  sum  way  of  deid  (a  thing  hard 
to  believed   of  us) ;    For  albeit   in   materis  of  civile 


THE  CASTLE  OF  EDINBURGH  261 

regiment  ye  doe  not  fuUie  agrie  with  us,  yit  in  the 
actione  of  rehgione,  God  hes  heirtofoire  sa  far  used 
your  labouris  to  the  furtherance  thairof,  that  ye  have 
not  bene  a  simple  professore  only,  but  also  a  chiefe 
defendar  thairof,  with  the  hasard  of  your  lyfe,  landis, 
and  guidis  :  And,  thairfoir,  hard  it  is  to  persuade  us 
that  ye  shuld  be  movit  to  doe  ony  harme  to  him,  in 
whose  protectione  and  lyfe  (to  our  judgment)  standis 
the  prosperitie  and  incres  of  Godis  kirke  and  religione  ; 
and  so,  be  the  injureing  of  him,  to  cast  doun  that 
worke  which  with  so  grit  labouris  and  manifold 
dangeris  ye  have  helpit  to  build.  Yit,  nochttheles, 
the  grit  cair  that  we  have  of  the  personage  of  that 
man,  whome  God  hes  made  both  the  first  planter,  and 
also  the  cheif  waterer  of  his  kirk  amonges  us,  and 
moves  us  to  write  these  few  lynis  unto  you  ;  protesting, 
that  the  death  and  lyfe  of  that  our  said  brother  is  to  us 
so  pretious  and  deer,  as  is  our  owin  lyves  and  deathis. 
Desyring  to  have  a  plaine  declaratioune  of  your  mynd 
in  this  matter  with  this  beirar,  whom  we  have  directed 
unto  you  with  further  credite.  And  this  nocht  trub- 
ling  yow  with  farder  wryting,  we  committ  yow  to  the 
regiment  of  the  Spreit  of  God.  From  Ayre,  the  3  of 
Januare,  1571."  ^ 

To  discredit  Knox  was,  in  truth,  a  matter  of  high 
importance  to  the  Queen's  party  in  the  Castle.  As  we 
have  seen,  the  majority  of  the  citizens  of  Edinburgh 
were  steadfast  supporters  of  Knox,  and  in  the  present 
position  of  affairs  the  attitude  of  the  capital  was  of 
special  consequence  to  either  party.  With  the  other 
ministers,  Lethington  wrote  to  Mary,  something 
might  be  done,  but  Knox  was  inflexible."  To  weaken 
Knox's  influence,  therefore,  a  clever  device  was  tried. 

1  Bannatyne,  pp.  80-82.  ^    Works^  vi.  567. 


262  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

On  the  subject  of  the  Queen  and  her  deservings 
certain  of  his  brethren  were  not  disposed  to  take  up 
the  extreme  position  of  Knox ;  and  by  emphasising 
this  difference  his  enemies  now  sought  to  effect  their 
end.  During  the  Assembly  that  met  in  March 
four  "  Hbels,"  all  anonymous,  were  directed  against 
Knox,  one  of  them  being  thrown  into  the  place  of 
meeting,  the  other  three  affixed  to  the  outer  door. 
In  the  first  three  he  was  charged  with  defaming  the 
Queen  from  the  pulpit,  and  of  neglecting  to  pray  for 
her.  The  fourth  threw  in  his  teeth  his  "  Regiment  of 
Women,"  and  accused  him  of  inconsistency  in  not  only 
recognising  Elizabeth  as  a  lawful  queen,  but  in  seek- 
ing her  support  in  the  affairs  of  his  own  country.  In 
a  certain  measure  these  attacks  were  attended  with 
success,  as  they  revealed  the  weakness  or  the  modera- 
tion of  the  Assembly.  On  the  subject  of  Knox's 
speeches  regarding  the  Queen,  they  declared  that  they 
would  share  his  responsibility,  but  refused  to  pass  an 
act  formally  approving  them.^ 

In  spite  of  this  fainthearted  support,  Knox  still 
denounced  Mary  as  the  root  of  all  the  ills  that  afflicted 
the  country.  But  in  Edinburgh,  at  least,  his  de- 
nunciations were  now  to  be  effectually  silenced.  To 
recover  the  Castle  became  at  this  time  the  urgent 
object  of  the  Regent  Lennox ;  and  in  self-defence 
Grange  began  preparations  to  meet  the  approaching 
siege.  As  the  friends  of  Mary  swarmed  into  the 
capital,  the  situation  of  Knox  became  every  day  more 
precarious.  A  shot  fired  into  his  house  one  night 
missed  its  mark  only  because  he  had  accidentally  left 
his  usual  seat ; '  and  on  the  night  of  the  19th  of  April 
his  friends  deemed  it  necessary  to  place  a  guard  round 

1   Bannatyne,  pp.  94,  95.  ^   Caldenvood,  iii.  242. 


THE  CASTLE  OF  EDINBURGH  263 

his  house. ^  At  last  the  necessities  of  his  position 
forced  Grange  to  a  decided  step.  If  a  siege  was 
before  him,  it  would  be  well  that  the  town  should  not 
be  the  stronghold  of  his  enemies.  On  the  30th  of 
April  he  issued  a  proclamation,  commanding  all  such 
to  quit  the  town  within  the  space  of  six  hours.  To 
none  could  this  proclamation  have  been  more  directly 
applicable  than  to  Knox ;  nevertheless  he  would  fain 
have  lingered  at  the  post  where  in  any  case  the  term 
of  his  labours  could  not  be  far  distant.  This,  how- 
ever, his  friends  could  not  allow.  Grange  himself 
would  have  been  loath  to  see  any  harm  come  to  the 
man  whom  in  his  heart  he  held  in  honour  and 
affection  ;  but  in  the  present  state  of  Edinburgh  he 
would  not  be  responsible  for  any  man's  life.  Knox, 
he  let  it  be  known,  must  either  quit  the  town  or  take 
up  his  abode  in  the  Castle,  where  he  would  at  least 
be  safe  from  injury.  When  such  were  the  alternatives 
presented  to  him,  Knox  could  have  little  difficulty  in 
coming  to  a  decision.  On  the  5th  of  May,  at  the 
urgent  treaty  of  his  friends,  he  left  Edinburgh,  and 
on  the  8th  of  the  same  month  crossed  the  Firth 
of  Forth  to  Abbotshall,  near  Kirkcaldy,  where  he 
found  a  temporary  residence  with  the  laird  of  the 
place. 

Immediately  before  his  departure  Knox  made  one 
of  a  deputation,  which  had  been  sent  to  the  Castle 
on  a  sufficiently  hopeless  errand.  As  the  last 
occasion  on  which  he  met  Grange  and  crossed  swords 
with  Lethington,  the  interview  deserves  a  passing 
mention.  It  is  from  Knox's  own  hand  that  we  have  the 
account  of  it,  and  though  something  of  the  old  vigour 
is    gone,    it    bears    the    unmistakable    stamp    of    his 

^   Bannatyne,  p.  1 1 1. 


264  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

manner.^  The  interview  had  been  sought  by  the 
leaders  in  the  Castle,  though  with  what  purpose 
Knox's  narrative  leaves  us  in  the  dark.  The  deputies 
who  accompanied  Knox  were  his  colleague  Craig,  and 
Wynram,  the  Superintendent  of  Fife  ;  and  they  were 
met  by  Lethington,  Grange,  Sir  James  Balfour,  and 
Chatelherault.  The  meeting  took  place  in  the  bed- 
room of  Lethington,  who,  though  a  much  younger 
man,  was  as  feeble  in  body  as  Knox  himself.  Through- 
out the  interview  Lethington  sat  on  a  chair  by  his 
bedside,  with  a  little  dog  on  his  knee.  This  easy 
fashion  in  which  the  three  ministers  were  received 
hardly  betokened  any  serious  purpose  on  the  part  of 
those  who  had  invited  them.  As  invariably  happened 
when  Knox  and  Lethington  found  themselves  in  each 
other's  presence,  the  conversation  was  mainly  left  in 
their  hands.  The  natural  thought  of  Knox  was  that 
terms  would  be  offered  which  might  open  the  way  to  a 
reconciliation.  All  the  men  before  him  had  at  one 
time  stood  side  by  side  in  a  common  cause.  The 
expectation,  therefore,  was  not  unreasonable ;  but 
Lethington  soon  undeceived  him.  The  men  from 
whom  he  came,  Knox  was  told,  had  no  lawful 
authority ;  and  their  fitting  course  was  to  accept  such 
terms  as  their  rightful  sovereign  might  impose  upon 
them.     Coming   from    Lethington,  who   had    taken   a 

1  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  "  Mr.  John  "  who  figures  in  this 
interview  is  Knox  himself.  As  the  conversation  appears  in  Bannatyne, 
there  is  some  discrepancy  in  dates,  but  in  this  part  of  the  book  there 
is  a  general  confusion,  which  may  account  for  the  difficulty.  From  the 
report  of  the  interview  it  appears  that  it  took  place  after  the  30th  of 
April,  when  Grange  issued  his  ultimatum.  As  Chatelherault  figures  in 
the  scene,  this  further  fixes  the  date  as  after  the  4th  of  May,  the  day 
when  he  entered  Edinburgh  (Bannatyne,  p.  117).  The  interview,  there- 
fore probably  took  place  between  the  4th  and  8th  of  May,  as  it  is  unlikely 
that  Knox  would  recross  the  Forth  on  what  he  must  have  known  to  be  a 
sufficiently  idle  errand. 


THE  CASTLE  OF  EDINBURGH  265 

prominent  part  in  setting  up  the  Regency,  these  words 
moved  Knox  to  a  Hvely  protest  against  the  speaker's 
inconsistency.  The  erection  of  the  King,  Lethington 
retorted,  was  "  but  ane  fetche  or  shift  to  save  us  from 
grit  inconvenientis." — "  Bot  one  thing  weill  I  wot,"  was 
Knox's  reply,  "  honest  men  of  simple  conscience  and 
upricht  dealing  meanit  nothing  of  thir  your  shiftis  and 
fetches."  In  spite  of  this  keen  play,  however,  there 
was  no  loss  of  temper,  and  with  a  parting  thrust  of 
Knox  at  Lethington,  the  whole  company  "  began  to 
mow,  and  as  it  were,  every  ane  to  lauch  upoun  ane 
uther,  and  so  raise." ^ 

^   Bannatyne,  pp.  125-132. 


CHAPTER   V 

KNOX    IN    ST.    ANDREWS BEGINNINGS    OF    EPISCOPACY 

1571-1572 

It  was  in  the  beginning  of  July  that  Knox,  accom- 
panied by  his  family,  settled  in  St.  Andrews.^  If  he 
had  escaped  personal  danger  by  leaving  Edinburgh, 
he  did  not  find  repose.  Like  every  other  part  of  the 
country,  St.  Andrews  was  divided  in  its  allegiance, 
though  the  most  influential  persons  in  the  town  favoured 
the  party  of  the  Queen.  The  minister,  Robert  Hamil- 
ton, who  had  succeeded  Knox's  old  friend  Goodman 
in  1566,  took  sides  with  his  clan,  and  regarded  Knox 
as  an  intruder.  Of  the  three  colleges  that  composed 
the  University,  St.  Leonard's,  of  which  George  Buch- 
anan had  lately  been  principal,  alone  was  friendly  to 
the  Regent.^  Thus  surrounded  by  adversaries,  it  was 
here  once  more  Knox's  function  to  lift  up  his  voice 
against'the  defection  of  those  who  had  once  professed 
such  zeal  for  the  truth. 

Of  his  doings  in  St.  Andrews  certain  notes  have 
been  preserved  which  bring  him  vividly  before  us  as 
he  appeared  in  these  last  months  of  his  life.  James 
Melville,  to  whom  we  owe  this  account,  was  then  a 

1  Bannatyne,  p.  25  5.  James  Melville  (Z'/,r;ry,  p.  26)  mentions  the  fact 
that  Knox  had  his  family  with  him.  It  was  in  the  Novum  Hospitium  of 
the  Priory  that  Knox  and  his  family  lived  during  his  stay  in  St.  Andrews. 

2  Bannatyne,  pp.  258^/  seq. 


KNOX  IN  ST.  ANDREWS  267 

Student  in  St.  Leonard's  College,  disposed  alike  by 
family  tradition  and  personal  predilection  to  sit  at  the 
feet  of  the  mighty  preacher  with  whose  name  Scotland 
had  rung  all  the  days  he  could  remember.^  In  his 
Diary,  one  of  the  most  delightful  books  of  its  kind  in 
the  language,  Melville  has  recorded  his  impression  of 
Knox  in  a  passage  as  striking  as  that  in  which  he 
records  his  visit  to  George  Buchanan. 

"  Bot  of  all  the  benefites  I  haid  that  yeir  was  the 
coming  of  that  maist  notable  profet  and  apostle  of  our 
nation,  Mr.  Jhone  Knox  to  St.  Andros,  wha,  be  the 
faction  of  the  Quein  occupeing  the  castell  and  town  of 
Edinbruche,  was  compellit  to  remove  therefra  with  a 
number  of  the  best,  and  chusit  to  com  to  St.  Andros. 
I  hard  him  teatche  ther  the  prophecie  of  Daniel  that 
simmer  and  the  wintar  following.  I  haid  my  pen  and  my 
litle  book,  and  tuk  away  sic  things  as  I  could  compre- 
hend. In  the  opening  upe  of  his  text  he  was  moderat 
the  space  of  an  halff  houre  ;  bot  when  he  enterit  to 
application,  he  maid  me  sa  to  grew  ^  and  tremble,  that 
I  could  nocht  haid  a  pen  to  wryt.  .  ,  .  Mr.  Knox  wald 
sum  tyme  com  in  and  repose  him  in  our  colleage  yeard, 
and  call  us  schollars  unto  him  and  bless  us,  and  exhort 
us  to  knaw  God  and  his  wark  in  our  contrey,  and  stand 
be  the  guid  cause,  to  use  our  tyme  weill,  and  lern  the 
guid  instructiones,  and  follow  the  guid  exemple  of  our 
maisters.  ...  I  saw  him  everie  day  of  his  doctrine  go 
hulie  and  fear,^  with  a  furring  of  martriks  about  his 
neck,  a  staff  in  the  an  hand,  and  guid  godly  Richart 
Ballanden    his  servand,  haldin  upe  the  uther  oxter,^ 

1  Melville  was  born  in  1556,  though  his  uncle  Andrew,  he  tells  us, 
would  have  it  that  the  year  was  1557.  The  Records  of  the  University 
of  St.  Andrews  show  that  he  matriculated  in  1569,  a  date  different  from 
that  which  is  assigned  in  his  Diary. 

2  Thrill.  3  Slowly  and  warily.  *  Arm-pit. 


268  LIFE   OF  JOHN  KNOX 

from  the  Abbay  to  the  paroche  kirk,  and  be  the  said 
Richart  and  another  servant,  Hfted  upe  to  the  pulpit, 
whar  he  behovit  to  lean  at  his  first  entrie,  bot  or  he 
haid  done  with  his  sermont  he  was  sa  active  and  vigorus, 
that  he  was  lyk  to  ding  that  pulpit  in  blads  ^  and  flie 
out  of  it."  ^ 

Though  he  was  constantly  affirming  that  his  work 
on  earth  was  done,  the  tasks  which  Knox  still  undertook 
were  enough  to  fill  the  days  of  an  ordinary  man.  On  his 
Sunday  sermon  he  spent  much  care  and  meditation,  and 
apparently  had  it  written  out  in  full  or  in  copious  notes.^ 
Though  he  could  not,  as  he  tells  us,  write  two  lines 
with  his  own  hand,'*  he  never  lost  touch  with  civil  and 
ecclesiastical  affairs.  One  proof  of  his  still  indomitable 
spirit  should  hardly  be  omitted.  In  the  Assembly  that 
met  in  August  the  authors  of  the  libels  against  him 
offered  to  make  good  their  charges.  Three  days  before 
the  Assembly  met  Knox  wrote  a  letter,  in  which  he 
reminds  his  brethren  of  the  pledge  of  his  enemies,  and 
prays  that  his  case  may  have  a  patient  hearing.  For 
himself  he  was  assured  that  he  had  neither  "  offendit 

^   Break  the  pulpit  in  pieces. 

2  Melville,  Diary,  pp.  20-26.  Melville  also  tells  that  Knox  was 
present  at  "  a  play  at  the  mariage  of  Mr.  Jhon  Colvin,"  in  which  "  the 
castell  of  Edinburche  was  besiged,  takin,  and  the  captan,  with  an  or  twa 
with  him,  hangit  in  efifigie  "  {Diary,  p.  22).  Melville  also  records  the 
punishment  of  a  witch  in  St.  Andrews  "against  the  quhilk  Mr.  Knox 
delt  from  the  pulpit,  sche  being  set  upe  at  a  pillar  befor  him  "  {ibid.  p. 
46).  In  this  connection  may  also  be  quoted  a  singular  passage  from 
Bannatyne,  relating  to  Knox's  stay  in  St.  Andrews  :  "About  this  tyme, 
to  wit,  the  5  or  6  of  Januar,  Johne  Law,  the  post  of  Sanct  Androis, 
being  in  Edinburgh,  and  also  in  the  castle,  ane  demandit,  Gif  Johne 
Knox  was  baneist  Sanct  Androis,  and  gif  that  his  servant  Richard  was 
deid  ?  Who  knowing  no  sic  thing  confessit  the  treuth.  But  the  ladie 
Home  and  utheris  wold  neidis  thraip  in  his  face  that  he  was  banist  the 
said  toun,  becaus  that  in  the  yaird  he  had  raiset  some  Sanctis,  amonges 
whom  thair  come  up  the  devill  with  hornis  ;  which  when  his  servant 
Richard  saw,  ran  woude  and  so  died." — P.  216. 

2  Ibid.  p.  26.  "*    Works,  vi.  602. 


KNOX  IN  ST.  ANDREWS  269 

God,  nor  yet  good  men  "  in  anything  that  had  been 
laid  to  his  charge.^  From  letters  addressed  to  him  we 
learn  that  he  was  still  engaged  on  his  History,  and  as 
assiduous  as  ever  in  the  collection  of  original  docu- 
ments." In  foreign  affairs  as  bearing  on  the  future  of 
parties  in  Scotland  he  continued  to  take  the  same 
interest  as  ever.  "  As  I  gett  knowledge  farcler  in 
forane  materis,"  writes  a  correspondent  to  him  in 
December  1571,  "ye  sail,  God  willing,  be  made  parti- 
cipant." ^ 

With  the  opening  of  the  year  1572  began  a  new 
phase  in  the  history  of  the  Reformed  Church  in  Scot- 
land. The  full  significance  of  this  phase  Knox  did  not 
live  to  see ;  but,  as  it  happened,  he  had  to  bear  his 
special  testimony  in  the  individual  case  which  initiated 
the  new  departure.  The  leading  spirit  of  the  King's 
party  was  now  the  Earl  of  Morton,  though  the  nominal 
representative  of  the  young  King  was  the  Regent 
Mar.  Morally  far  inferior  to  Moray,  Morton  had 
steadily  pursued  the  policy  in  which  both  saw  the  true 
interests  of  Scotland — union  with  England,  and,  what 
that  union  necessarily  implied,  the  establishment  of 
Protestantism  as  the  religion  of  the  country.  But  at 
no  time  did  the  success  of  his  policy  seem  more  un- 
certain than  now.  The  struggle  between  the  two 
parties  still  went  on,  and  the  end  seemed  as  far  off  as 
ever.  With  the  great  majority  of  the  nobles  against 
them,  and  the  chief  stronghold  of  the  country  in  the 
hands  of  the  enemy,  the  only  hope  of  the  King's  party 
was  that  Elizabeth  would  come  to  their  rescue.  But 
many  considerations,  bearing  on  her  own  immediate 
interests,  deterred  Elizabeth  from  taking  such  a  step, 

^    Works,  vi.  606-608. 
2  Ibid.  pp.  606-612.  2  Ibid.  p.  610. 


270  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

and  another  year  elapsed  before  she  actually  despatched 
a  force  to  assist  in  the  siege  of  the  Castle.  Meanwhile, 
the  pressing  need  of  the  Regent  was  for  money  to 
enable  him  to  keep  the  field  against  the  supporters  of 
the  Queen,  who  in  addition  to  their  own  resources  re- 
ceived occasional  subsidies  from  France.  Long  ago 
Cecil  had  told  the  Lords  of  the  Congregation  what 
course  they  ought  to  pursue  if  they  were  to  succeed  in 
effectually  putting  down  the  old  religion.  By  pos- 
sessing themselves  of  the  wealth  of  the  Church  they 
would  at  once  strengthen  their  own  hands  and  weaken 
those  of  the  enemy.^  Now  that  the  ancient  Church 
had  been  formally  abolished  by  the  King's  parliament, 
the  large  possessions  still  retained  by  its  surviving 
clergy  might  be  appropriated  to  the  state  in  a  fashion 
as  unobtrusive  as  it  was  effectual.  As  the  old  bishops 
died  off,  Protestant  bishops  should  be  put  in  their 
places,  but  on  conditions  that  would  make  them  the 
mere  salaried  officials  of  the  Crown.  Other  reasons 
also  moved  Morton  to  this  step,  which  were  bound  to 
have  their  own  weight  with  a  statesman  in  his  position. 
The  experience  of  the  last  few  years  had  taught  him 
that  if  Knox  and  his  brother  ministers  had  their  way, 
the  new  church  would  dominate  the  State  as  imperi- 
ously as  the  church  it  had  displaced.  To  bestow  on 
the  Protestant  ministers  all  the  wealth  that  had  be- 
longed to  the  Roman  clergy  would  have  given  them 
an  influence  incompatible  with  an  executive  able  to  do 
justice  to  all  the  interests  of  the  country.  Moreover, 
if  the  two  kingdoms,  as  Morton  hoped,  were  one  day 
to  be  united  under  the  rule  of  Mary's  son,  the  fusion 
would  be  more  complete  if  the  English  and  Scottish 
Churches    were    made    one    as    well    in    polity   as    in 

1    Works,  vi.  53. 


KNOX  IN  ST.  ANDREWS  271 

doctrine.^  For  these  various  reasons,  therefore,  Mor- 
ton now  set  himself  with  characteristic  determination 
and  lack  of  scruple  to  force  on  the  Protestants  a 
form  of  church  government  regarded  by  the  large 
majority  of  them  as  at  once  unscriptural  and  inexpedient. 
The  forces  of  the  Regent  Mar  were  now  encamped 
at  Leith  ;  and  in  this  town  on  the  12th  of  January  a 
convention "  of  the  Church  was  brought  together  to 
consider  the  proposals  of  Morton.  To  have  quarrelled 
with  the  person  on  whom  the  very  existence  of  the 
Church  seemed  to  depend  would  hardly  have  been  the 
action  of  sane  men,  and  apparently  without  a  dissen- 
tient voice  they  agreed  that  the  order  of  bishops  should 
be  recognised  in  the  Church.  Armed  with  this  warrant, 
Morton  lost  no  time  in  putting  his  policy  in  action. 
By  his  sole  direction  John  Douglas,  Rector  of  the 
University,  was  nominated  Archbishop  of  St.  Andrews, 
in  place  of  Hamilton,  who  had  been  hanged  nearly  a 
year  before.  Well  knowing  that  there  was  one  man 
in  St.  Andrews  whom  even  his  iron  will  could  not 
daunt,  Morton  crossed  from  Leith  to  see  that  his 
orders  were  duly  carried  out.  As  he  doubtless  antici- 
pated, Knox  protested  against  the  innovation  with  all 
the  force  that  was  left  in  him.  For  Douglas  himself 
Knox  had  a  personal  affection,  and  expressed  his 
regret  that  such  a  burden  should  be  laid  on  an 
old  man's  back.  What  alarmed  Knox  was  the 
high-handed  action  of  Morton,  and  its  threatened 
consequences  to  the  liberty  of  the  Church.  The  polity 
of  the  Church,  he  maintained,  had  been  settled  by 
assemblies  and  parliaments,  and  could  not  be  changed 

1   Melville,   pp.    47,   48.      The  motives  above  attributed  to  Morton 
are  all  implied  in  the  words  of  Melville. 
-   Melville,  p.  25. 


272  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 


by  the  will  of  one  man.^  When  he  was  asked  to 
inaugurate  the  new  bishop,  therefore,  he  refused  to 
have  any  hand  in  the  business.  On  the  day  of  the 
ceremony  Knox  preached  in  the  presence  of  Morton  ; 
but  Wynram,  the  Superintendent  of  Fife,  had  to  follow, 
and  go  through  with  the  work  which  Morton  pre- 
scribed for  him.  Doubtless,  it  was  with  this  incident 
among  others  in  his  mind  that  a  few  months  later 
Morton  uttered  his  memorable  sentence  at  the  grave 
of  the  man  who  had  thus  defied  him. 

This  was  not  the  only  unpleasant  business  that 
signalised  Knox's  sojourn  in  St.  Andrews.  Here,  on 
a  narrower  stage,  was  strikingly  illustrated  the  division 
that  had  rent  the  Protestant  ranks  on  the  dethronement 
of  Mary.  Of  the  three  colleges,  as  has  been  said,  only 
St.  Leonard's  had  gone  with  Knox  and  Moray,  the 
other  two  standing  fast  for  the  Hamiltons.  Between  St. 
Leonard's  and  its  neighbours,  therefore,  arose  all  the 
bitterness  that  distinguishes  the  quarrels  of  co-religion- 
ists. In  their  zeal  the  students  of  St.  Leonard's  com- 
plained to  the  Assembly  that  their  niinister,  Robert 
Hamilton,  refused  to  pray  for  the  Regent, and  manifested 
a  general  lukewarmness.  Another  complaint  which 
they  lodged  gave  rise  to  fierce  recriminations  in  which 
Knox  came  to  bear  a  prominent  part.  One,  William 
Ramsay,  second  in  office  in  the  College  of  St.  Salvator, 
had  originally  been  a  hearty  supporter  of  the  Regent 
Moray.  To  the  indignation  of  St.  Leonard's,  however, 
he  was  gained  over  by  the  Hamiltons,  and  began  to 
speak  ill  of  his  former  friends.  In  their  ardour  for  his 
recovery,  the  students  brought  his  case  before  the  As- 
sembly ;  but  by  an  unhappy  coincidence  Ramsay  died 
immediately  after  he  had  thus   been  pilloried.     The 

1   Bannatyne,  pp.  256,  257. 


KNOX  IN  ST.  ANDREWS  '  273 

occasion  was  not  to  be  lost,  and  It  was  affirmed  that  St. 
Leonard's  had  as  certainly  murdered  Ramsay  as  Both- 
wellhaugh  had  murdered  the  Regent  Moray.  As  in 
St.  Leonard's  Knox  had  found  his  main  support  in  St, 
Andrews,  he  could  not  suffer  his  friends  to  be  defamed 
for  what  he  deemed  their  godly  zeal ;  and  as  soon  as 
the  scandal  reached  him,  he  determined  to  carry  it  to 
the  pulpit  on  the  following  Sunday.  Fearing  that 
Knox  would  take  this  step,  Rutherford,  the  Provost  of 
St.  Salvator's,  wrote  a  peremptory  letter,  desiring  him 
to  let  the  matter  alone — the  most  effectual  means  of 
defeating  his  own  object.  The  next  Sunday  Knox 
read  Rutherford's  letter  from  the  pulpit,  though  with- 
out naming  its  author,  and  defended  St.  Leonard's 
from  the  charge  that  had  been  brought  against  it. 
But  the  blood  of  everybody  was  now  up,  and  words 
were  flung  about  which  were  not  likely  to  heal  the 
Church's  divisions.  Hamilton,  the  minister,  plainly 
told  Richard  Bannatyne  that  his  master  had  little  cause 
to  cry  out  against  the  Hamiltons  as  murderers,  as  he 
himself  had  subscribed  the  bond  for  the  murder  of 
Darnley.  A  letter  from  Knox,  however,  recalled 
Hamilton  to  his  senses,  and  with  as  ill  a  grace  as  he 
could  he  withdrew  his  charge.  One  other  enemy  Knox 
made  in  St.  Andrews,  who  was  afterwards  to  pursue 
his  memory  with  a  deadly  hate.  This  was  Archi- 
l3ald  Hamilton,  a  professed  Protestant,  but  attached 
to  the  fortunes  of  his  own  clan.  As  the  favourite 
theme  of  Knox  was  denunciation  of  that  family  as 
the  chief  ill-doers  in  the  country,  Hamilton  natur- 
ally refused  to  appear  in  church  when  Knox  was  the 
preacher.  But  such  a  dereliction  involved  the  censure 
of  the  Church,  and  both  the  Superintendent  and  the 
new  Archbishop  reasoned  with  Hamilton  on  his  delin- 
VOL.  11  18 


274  ^^^^  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

quency.  Hamilton,  however,  was  not  to  be  convinced 
that  he  was  bound  to  hear  a  preacher  who  availed 
himself  of  his  function  to  denounce  those  who  differed 
from  him  ;  and,  as  he  had  the  support  of  the  most 
influential  persons  in  the  town,  the  matter  dropped 
with  a  fruitless  protest  on  the  part  of  Knox  and  him- 
self. Some  years  later  Hamilton  joined  the  Church 
of  Rome,  and  wrote  a  book  in  which  he  denounces  the 
Church  he  had  left,  and  Knox  in  particular,  with  a 
malignant  ferocity  which  could  have  issued  only  from 
a  mean  intelligence  and  a  bad  heart. ^ 

Even  amid  the  vexations  of  St.  Andrews,  the  Castle 
of  Edinburgh  and  its  inmates  were  never  out  of 
Knox's  thoughts.  In  his  letters  he  unfailingly  recurs 
to  the  subject  with  a  bitterness  that  increased  as  the 
days  went  on.  "  Lying  in  Sanct  Androis,  half  deid," 
he  thus  writes  to  a  correspondent  in  May  1572  :  "  This 
is  that  which  God  reveillis  to  me,  that  the  actione  that 
is  defendit  against  thea  traytouris  and  murthereris  of 
the  Castle  of  Edinburghe  is  just,  and  in  the  end  sail 
prevaille  against  Sathan,  and  all  thame  that  mainteanis 
that  wickit  society."-  Two  months  later  he  again 
writes  :  "  Frome  the  Castell  of  Edinburgh  have  sprung 
all  the  murthers  first  and  last  committed  in  this  realme  ; 
yea,  and  all  the  troubles  and  treasons  contrived  in 
England."^ 

For  a  moment  in  the  spring  of  this  year  Knox 
turned  aside  to  another  adversary  already  spreading 
dismay  in  the  ranks  of  Protestantism,  but  whose 
eventual    developments    were    as    yet    only    partially 

1  Hamilton's  book  is  entitled,  De  Confiisione  CalvifiiancB  Sectce 
apiid  Scot  OS  Ecclesics  nomen  ridicule  ustirpa7ttis,  Dialogiis.  Parisiis, 
1577.  For  the  slanders  of  Hamilton  and  others  regarding  Knox,  see 
Appendix  E. 

2  Works^  vi.  615.  ^  Ibid.  p.  6i8. 


KNOX  IN  ST.  ANDREWS  275 

divined.  At  the  close  of  1566,  on  Knox's  return  to 
Edinburgh  after  the  murder  of  Rizzio,  a  letter  was  put 
into  his  hands  which  appears  to  have  given  him  some 
uneasiness/  It  was  the  production  of  one  James  Tyrie, 
a  young  Scotsman  of  ability  and  learning,  who  had 
lately  joined  the  Society  of  Jesus,  and  was  addressed 
to  his  brother  with  the  intention  of  winning  him  over 
to  Rome.  Knox  was  fully  aware  that  the  Jesuits  were 
already  no  contemptible  enemy,  and  that  the  decrees 
of  the  Council  of  Trent, -^  which  had  alarmed  every 
Protestant,  were  largely  their  work.  Immediately 
on  reading  this  letter,  therefore,  he  sat  down,  and  in 
a  few  days  produced  a  detailed  reply  to  Tyrie. ^  For 
reasons  which  he  does  not  fully  explain,^  the  letter  was 
not  published  at  the  time  it  was  written.  The  aggres- 
sive activity  of  the  Jesuits,  however,  now  determined 
him  to  give  it  to  the  world,  and  sometime  during  the 
first  half  of  the  year  1572  it  was  printed  by  Lekprevik, 
who  had  come  to  St.  Andrews  at  the  same  time  as 
himself.^  Of  the  controversy  itself  it  is  unnecessary 
to  speak  at  length.  The  novelty  of  Protestantism  and 
the  multiplicity  of  its  sects,  as  contrasted  with  the 
antiquity  and  unity  of  the  Church  of  Rome — these  are 
the  points  on  which  Tyrie  mainly  insists  and  which 
Knox  seeks  to  rebut.  But  to  the  reply  were  added 
an  introduction  and  an  appendix,  which  Knox  himself 
evidently  considered  the  most  important  portions  of 
his  pamphlet,  and  which  to  us  are  certainly  the  most 
interesting.     The  introduction  consists  of  an  epistle 

1    Works,  vi.  481. 

-  There  are  frequent  references  to  the  Council  of  Trent  in  Knox's 
writings.     Cf  specially  Works,  vi.  402  et  seq. 

^    Works,  vi.  481. 

■^  He  simply  says,  "  I  repented  of  my  laubour,  and  purposed  fullie 
to  have  suppressed  it." — Ibid.  ^  James  Melville,  Diary,  p.  26. 


276  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

to  tfie  Faithful,  and  a  prayer  which  he  used  before  his 
congregation  previous  to  his  flight  after  the  murder 
of  Rizzio.  From  this  singular  prayer  we  gather,  what 
other  evidence  proves,  that  with  his  physical  decay 
there  was  a  progressive  exaltation  of  feeling,  which 
was  effectually  kept  in  check  by  the  absorbing  pursuit 
of  practical  ends.  In  such  an  exclamation  as  the  follow- 
ing we  must  see  the  expression  of  emotion  perilously 
near  the  line  that  divides  the  morbid  fanatic  from 
the  great  religious  leader :  "  For  being  drowned  in 
ignorance,  thow  hes  gevin  to  me  knawledge  above 
the  commoun  sort  of  my  brethren  ;  my  toung  hes 
thow  usit  to  set  furth  thy  glorie,  to  oppung  idolatrie, 
errouris,  and  fals  doctrine."^ 

Even  more  singular  than  the  introduction  is  the 
appendix  which  Knox  saw  fit  to  add  to  his  letter. 
Among  the  many  things  said  of  him  by  evil  tongues 
was  a  slander  regarding  his  relations  to  his  mother-in- 
law,  Mrs.  Bowes,  who  had  lately  died.  To  let  the 
world  know  what  these  relations  precisely  were,  he 
now  published  a  long  letter  which  he  had  addressed 
to  her  so  long  ago  as  July  1554  ;  and  a  more  effective 
justification  he  could  not  have  produced.  Religious 
hypochondria,  as  we  have  seen,  absorbed  the  days 
and  nights  of  Mrs.  Bowes,  and  in  this  letter  we  have 
Knox  in  the  capacity  of  ghostly  adviser,  dealing  with 
her  hallucinations  in  a  spirit  of  tender  sympathy 
that  sufficiently  explains  his  magnetism  for  women. 
Accompanying  this  letter  is  another  addressed  to  the 
Faithful  Reader,  in  which  he  explains  his  reasons  for 
now  bringing  Mrs.  Bowes  before  the  world.  It  was 
partly,  he  says,  to  explain  his  own  relations  to  Mrs. 
Bowes,  but  partly,  also,  that  others   might  profit  by 

1    Works,  vi.  483. 


KNOX  IN  ST.  ANDREWS  277 

her  painful  experience.  "  The  letter  in  the  end,"  he 
says  elsewhere,  "  if  it  serve  not  for  this  estate  of 
Scotland,  yitt  it  will  serve  a  troubled  conscience,  so 
long  as  the  Kirk  of  God  remaineth  in  either  realme."  ^ 
Some  explanation  was  certainly  needed  for  obtruding 
so  purely  personal  a  matter  on  the  public,  yet  he  might 
have  justified  his  proceeding  without  such  a  sentence 
as  the  following  :  "  Her  company  to  me  was  comfortable 
(yea,  honorable  and  profitable,  for  she  was  to  me  and 
myne  a  mother) ;  but  yet  it  was  not  without  some 
croce  :  for  besides  trouble  and  fasherie  of  body  sus- 
teyned  for  her,  my  mynde  was  seldome  quyet,  for 
doing  somewhat  for  the  comfort  of  her  troubled  con- 
science."" Indelicate  as  this  may  seem,  it  is  right  to 
remember  that  in  the  same  century  Sir  Thomas  More, 
the  most  refined  of  spirits,  said  and  did  things  to 
his  own  wife  at  once  less  excusable  and  far  more 
repugnant  to  modern  feeling,^ 

With  one  other  matter  Knox's  sojourn  in  St. 
Andrews  came  to  a  close.  In  the  beginning  of  August 
the  General  Assembly  met  at  Perth  under  circum- 
stances that  made  its  meeting  of  special  importance. 
As  he  was  no  longer  able  to  take  part  in  its  proceedings, 
Knox  sent  a  letter  in  which  he  offered  his  counsel  on 
late  events  affecting  the  interests  of  the  Church.  In 
the  forefront  of  his  letter  he  uttered  a  warning  which 
his  own  recent  experiences  sufficiently  explain.  In 
St.  Andrews  we  have  seen  that  the  majority  in  the 
University  had  steadily  set  themselves  against  Knox 
and  his  preaching.  With  this  painful  memory  before 
him,  he  writes  as  follows  :  "  Above  all  things  preserve 
the    Kirk    from    the    bondage    of    the    Universities. 

1    Wot'ks,  vi.  617.  2  /^/^.  p.  514. 

3  Cf.  Roper,  Life  of  Sir  Thomas  More,  pp.  67-169  (edit.  1817). 


278  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

Persuade  them  to  rule  peaceably,  and  order  thair  schools 
in  Christ ;  but  subject  never  the  pulpit  to  their 
Judgment,  neither  yet  exempt  them  from  your  Juris- 
diction." ^  But  the  warning  was  hardly  needed  :  the 
meagre  scale  of  the  Scottish  Universities  has  effectually 
prevented  their  dominating  religious  and  political 
thought  like  those  of  the  sister  country. 

Along  with  this  letter  Knox  sent  a  series  of 
suggestions,  all  of  which  were  received  with  approval 
by  the  Assembly.  On  one  subject  his  expressions  are 
specially  interesting,  in  view  of  the  later  developments 
of  the  Scottish  Church.  The  proceedings  of  Morton 
in  making  bishops  on  his  own  account  had  raised  a 
panic  among  the  ministers  which  reflection  had  only 
increased.  In  the  present  Assembly  it  was  now 
unanimously  concluded  that  the  articles  adopted  by 
the  convention  of  Leith  should  be  received  only  as 
an  interim.  The  names — archbishop,  dean,  arch- 
deacon, chancellor,  and  chapter — were  found  to  be 
"  sclanderous  and  offensive  to  the  eares  of  manie  of  the 
brethren,  appeirand  to  sound  to  Papistrie."  -  To  the 
name  bishop,  on  the  other  hand,  no  objection  was  taken. 
As  we  have  seen,  Knox  had  never  held  the  opinion 
that  bishops  were  an  unscriptural  institution,^  and  from 
the  communications  he  now  sent  to  the  Assembly  it 
does  not  appear  that  he  had  changed  his  mind.  That 
he  had  seriously  considered  the  question  is  proved  by 
the  fact  that  either  by  himself  or  at  his  suggestion 
Beza  had  been  informed  of  the  proceedings  at  Leith. 
In  a  letter  to  Knox,  dated  12th  April  1572,  Beza  had 
expressed  himself  in  this  emphatic  fashion  :  "  But  of 
this,  also,  my  Knox,  which  is  now  almost  patent  to  our 

1    Works,  vi.  619.  "  Bookc  of  the  Univejsall  Kirk,  p.  133. 

3   See  above,  vol.  i.  pp.  92,  93. 


KNOX  IN  ST.  ANDREWS  279 

very  eyes,  I  would  remind  yourself  and  the  other 
brethren,  that  as  Bishops  brought  forth  the  Papacy,  so 
will  false  Bishops  (the  relicts  of  Popery)  bring  in 
Epicurism  into  the  world.  Let  those  who  devise  the 
safety  of  the  Church  avoid  this  pestilence,  and  when 
in  process  of  time  you  shall  have  subdued  that  plague 
in  Scotland,  do  not,  I  pray  you,  ever  admit  it  again, 
however  it  may  flatter  by  the  pretence  of  preserving 
unity."  ^  With  this  opinion  before  him,  Knox  raises  no 
objection  to  the  office  of  bishop  in  itself.  Its  exist- 
ence, indeed,  he  takes  for  granted,  and  his  only  con- 
cern is  that  fitting  persons  should  be  made  bishops, 
and  that  the  Church  should  have  its  rightful  part  in 
their  appointment.^  Had  he  lived  a  few  years  longer, 
it  may  safely  be  said  that  his  attitude  would  have  been 
very  different.  In  the  struggle  that  was  to  follow 
between  Presbytery  and  Episcopacy,  Andrew  Melville 
was  the  true  continuator  of  the  work  of  Knox. 

1    Works,  vi.  614.      The  translation  is  Laing's. 
2  Bannatyne,  pp.  250  ct  seq. 


.     CHAPTER   VI 

KNOX    AND    THE    MASSACRE    OF    ST.    BARTHOLOMEW 

LAST    DAYS CONCLUSION 

1572 

On  the  31st  of  July,  through  the  good  offices  of  France 
and  England,  a  truce  was  concluded  between  the  two 
Scottish  factions.  It  was  to  begin  on  the  ist  of  August, 
and  to  conclude  at  the  end  of  September ;  but  was 
subsequently  extended  beyond  the  date  of  Knox's 
death.  The  citizens,  who  had  been  forced  to  leave 
Edinburgh,  were  thus  restored  to  their  homes ;  and 
their  earliest  thought  was  to  provide  for  their  spiritual 
edification.  At  this  moment,  indeed,  their  case  was 
specially  unfortunate  ;  their  senior  minister,  Knox,  was 
in  St.  Andrews,  and  his  colleague,  John  Craig,  had 
shown  such  leanings  to  the  party  of  the  Castle  that 
they  determined  to  dispense  with  his  services.  On 
the  4th  of  August  two  Commissioners  were  despatched 
to  Knox  with  a  letter  signed  by  the  members  of  his 
congregation  in  Edinburgh.  In  the  most  affectionate 
terms  they  besought  him  to  return  to  his  old  place  in 
their  midst.  Aware  of  the  state  of  his  health,  however, 
they  left  it  with  himself  to  decide  whether  he  could 
come  with  safety  or  not.  Amid  his  uncongenial  sur- 
roundings in  St.  Andrews,  Knox  had  doubtless  longed 
for   the    sympathetic   audiences    of    St.    Giles's,    and 


LAST  DA  YS  281 


he  readily  agreed  to  return  to  Edinburgh,  One  con- 
dition he  made  to  prevent  such  misunderstandings  as 
had  occurred  in  the  past.  He  must  have  perfect  hberty 
to  speak  his  mind  regarding  those  persons  in  the  Castle 
whose  doings  were  bringing  destruction  on  the  country. 
The  reply  was  that  he  might  "  speike  his  conscience, 
as  he  had  done  afoir  tymes."^ 

On  the  1 7th  of  August  Knox  left  St.  Andrews,  and 
landed  at  Leith  on  the  23rd.  After  a  few  days  spent 
in  Leith,  he  proceeded  to  Edinburgh,  and  preached  in 
St.  Giles's  on  the  last  Sunday  of  the  month.  In  his 
best  days  his  voice  had  not  reached  the  vast  crowd 
which  had  assembled  in  that  church  ;  but  in  his  present 
broken  health  he  was  totally  unequal  to  his  former 
exertions.  For  the  short  time  he  was  still  to  preach, 
therefore,  he  addressed  his  audiences  in  a  portion  of 
the  church  known  as  the  Tolbooth." 

The  appointment  of  a  colleague  and  successor  at 
once  demanded  Knox's  most  earnest  consideration. 
His  own  labours,  he  felt,  were  fast  approaching  their 
term  ;  Craig,  once  his  stout  and  faithful  ally,  had  gone 
over  to  the  enemy  ;  and  men  of  learning  and  zeal  were 
not  so  abundant  as  to  make  the  choice  easy.  The 
man  on  whom  he  fixed  was  James  Lawson,  sub-principal 
of  the  University  of  Aberdeen.  Knowing  that  any 
day  might  now  be  his  last,  Knox  at  once  wrote  to 
Lawson,  praying  him  to  come  to  Edinburgh,  that  they 
might  "  conferre  together  of  heavenlie  thingis,"  add- 
ing the  urgent  postscript — "  Haist,  leist  ye  come  to 
late."     Within  a  fortnight  Lawson  appeared,  and  the 

1   Bannatyne,  p.  255. 

^  Ibid.  p.  263.  The  part  of  the  church  in  which  Knox  preached 
was  probably  the  south-west  corner  of  the  nave.  For  an  account  of  the 
various  "  Tolbuiths  "  in  Edinburgh,  see  Appendix  to  Our  Journall  into 
Scotland,  by  C.  Lowther  (Edinburgh,  1894). 


282  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

impression  he  made  was  as  favourable  as  had  been 
hoped.  In  the  stormy  times  that  were  to  come,  Law- 
son  showed  a  courage  and  steadfastness  not  unworthy 
of  Knox  himself,  and  finally  sealed  his  devotion  by 
dying  in  exile  for  the  trust  he  had  received/ 

This  duty  settled,  Knox  could  turn  with  an  easier 
mind  to  public  affairs,  which  had  never  been  more 
absorbing  than  now.  With  his  foot  in  the  grave  he 
was  still  the  old  power  in  the  country.  Just  at  this 
moment  the  news  of  the  Massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew 
had  reached  Scotland,  and  had  stirred  the  nation  to  its 
depths.  For  the  cause  of  the  King  nothing  could  have 
been  more  opportune  ;  and  with  all  the  vigour  that  was 
left  to  him,  Knox  drove  home  the  terrible  lesson  to 
the  hearts  of  his  countrymen.  Mainly  by  his  action, 
the  Regent's  Council  took  up  the  matter,  and  issued  a 
proclamation  summoning  the  leading  Protestants  to 
meet  in  Edinburgh  on  the  20th  of  October.  From 
the  pulpit  he  denounced  the  French  king  in  terms 
which  led  Du  Croc,  the  French  resident  in  Edinburgh, 
to  lodge  a  complaint  with  the  Council.  But  in  rousing 
the  popular  mind  against  France,  Knox  was  doing 
effectual  service  to  the  cause  which  the  Council  up- 
held ;  and  Du  Croc  was  coolly  told  that  the  lords  could 
not  even  stop  the  preachers  from  denouncing  them- 
selves.^ On  the  20th  of  October  the  Convention  of 
Protestants  met ;  but  with  a  few  exceptions  it  consisted 
wholly  of  ministers— a  convincing  proof  that  the  party 
of  the  King  had  its  chief  support  in  popular  feeling. 
Such  as  it  was,  however,  the  Convention  drew  up  a 
series  of  articles,  which,  if  not  actually  penned  by 
Knox,  must  have  been  directly  inspired  by  him.    Public 

1   Bannatyne,  p.  264  ;  Melville,  Diary,  p.  146. 
-   Bannatyne,  p.  273. 


LAST  DA  VS  283 


humiliation  for  the  national  sins,  pains  and  penalties 
for  those  who  preached  the  old  religion — such  were 
the  recommendations  of  the  first  two  articles.  But  it 
is  in  the  suggestion  of  the  third  and  last  article  that 
we  see  the  direct  result  of  St.  Bartholomew.  In  self- 
defence  against  all  Papists  an  alliance  was  to  be  formed 
with  England  and  other  Protestant  countries,  while  at 
home  a  bond  was  to  be  drawn  up  pledging  the  sub- 
scribers "  to  be  readie  at  all  occasiounes  for  resisting 
the  enemies  forsaid."  ^ 

Wielding  the  power  he  still  did,  Knox  could  not 
be  ignored  by  public  men  in  any  scheme  affecting  the 
country  at  large  ;  and  at  this  period  a  matter  was  in 
hand  which  concerned  not  only  the  future  of  Scotland 
but  of  Europe.  As  the  leaders  of  the  King's  party 
had  always  hoped,  Elizabeth  had  at  length  discovered 
that  no  arrangement  was  possible  with  Mary  which 
could  consist  with  the  safety  of  England.  Ev^n  as  a 
close  prisoner  the  Scottish  Queen  was  a  standing 
menace  which  only  her  death  could  remove.  To 
effect  this  end  in  the  safest  way  for  England  was  now 
the  special  object  of  Elizabeth's  minister  Cecil ;  and 
the  plan  that  met  his  approval  was  to  send  Mary  to 
Scotland,  there  to  be  put  through  the  form  of  a  trial  and 
publicly  or  privately  executed.'  On  certain  conditions, 
which  should  at  once  assure  the  triumph  of  the  King's 
party  and  the  independence  of  Scotland,  Morton  and 
the  Regent  Mar  accepted  Cecil's  proposal.  Knox, 
to  whom  the  scheme  was  likewise  communicated,  could 
have  no  hesitation  in  the  matter.       It  had   been  his 

•  ^  Bannatyne,  pp.  276-279. 
2  Murdin,  S fate  Papers,  pp.  224,  225.    The  question  as  to  how  Mary- 
was  to  be  removed,  whether  in  pubUc  or  secretly,  is  beside  our  present 
purpose.      As  far  as  Knox  was  concerned,  he  would  have  preferred  the 
deed  to  be  done  in  the  broadest  light  of  day. 


284  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

constant  contention  that  had  Mary  suffered  her  merited 
punishment  after  her  surrender  at  Carberry  the  country 
would  have  been  saved  all  the  disasters  of  recent  years. 
For  him  the  death  of  Mary  was  no  measure  of  political 
expediency  as  it  was  for  Morton  and  Cecil.  It  was  an 
act  of  absolute  justice  that  the  murderer  of  her  husband, 
the  betrayer  of  her  country  and  its  religion,  should  die 
the  death  appointed  alike  by  human  and  divine  law  to 
the  perpetrator  of  such  crimes.  When  Killigrew,  the 
English  agent,  approached  Knox,  therefore,  he  found 
a  ready  response  to  his  proposals.  "  I  trust  to  satisfy 
Morton,"  he  writes  to  Cecil,  "  and  for  John  Knox, 
that  thing,  ye  may  se  by  my  dyspatch  to  Mr.  Secretary, 
is  don  and  doing  dayly  ;  "  and  he  concludes  with  a  de- 
scViption  of  Knox's  bodily  state  and  disposition  of  mind 
as  he  appeared  rather  more  than  a  month  before  the 
end  :  "John  Knox  is  now  so  feble  as  scarce  can  he  stand 
alone,  or  speak  to  be  hard  of  any  audience  ;  yet  dothe 
he  every  Sonday  cause  himselfe  to  be  caried  to  a  place, 
where  a  certayn  nombre  do  here  him,  and  precheth  with 
the  same  vehemence  and  zeale  that  ever  he  did.  He 
dothe  reverence  your  Lordship  myche,  and  willed  me 
once  agayn  to  send  you  worde,  that  he  thanked  God 
he  had  obtained  at  His  hands,  that  the  gospel  of  Jesus 
Christ  is  truely  and  simply  preached  throwout  Scotland, 
whiche  dothe  so  comfort  him  as  he  now  desireth  to  be 
out  of  this  miserable  lyffe.  He  said  further,  that  it 
was  not  long  of  your  Lordship  that  he  was  not  a  great 
bischope  in  England  ;  but  that  effect  growen  in  Scot- 
land, he  being  an  instrument,  dothe  myche  more 
satisfy  him.  He  desired  me  to  make  his  last  commenda- 
tions most  humbly  to  your  Lordship,  and  withall,  that 
he  prayed  God  to  increase  His  strong  spirit  in  you, 
saying,  there  was  never  more  nead.     And  quoth  he 


LAST  DA  YS  285 


to  me,  '  Take  heed  how  you  believe  them  of  the  Castle, 
for  sure  theye  will  deceave  you  ;  and  trust  me,  I  know 
they  seake  nothing  more  than  the  ruyne  of  your 
Mistress,  which  they  have  been  about  of  long  tyme.'  "  ^ 

Killigrew's  letter  was  written  on  the  6th  of  October, 
and  about  a  month  later  (9th  November)  Knox  per- 
formed his  last  public  duty  on  earth.  This  was  the 
induction  of  his  successor  Lawson  in  the  great  church 
of  St.  Giles.  So  feeble  had  he  now  become  that  only 
a  few  could  distinguish  the  words  that  fell  from  him. 
Leaning  on  his  staff  and  attended  by  almost  the  entire 
congregation,  he  made  his  way  home  to  his  house  at 
the  Netherbow  Port.^  Of  the  fortnight  he  had  still  to 
live  the  faithful  Bannatyne  has  left  a  record  which 
leaves  nothing  to  be  desired  in  its  minute  fidelity  and 
simple  pathos.^ 

On  Sunday  the  iith  he  was  stricken  with  a  con- 
vulsive cough,  followed  by  a  difficulty  in  breathing, 
which  gradually  wore  away  his  strength.  By  Thurs- 
day he  was  so  weak  that  he  had  to  desist  from  his 
ordinary  reading  of  the  Bible  ;  and,  feeling  the  end 
was  near,  desired  his  wife  to  pay  the  servants  their 
wages.  The  next  day,  under  the  belief  that  it  was 
Sunday,  he  made  an  effort  to  rise  at  an  earlier  hour ; 
but  was  so  reduced  that  it  was  with  difficulty  he  could 
even  keep  a  sitting  posture.  On  Saturday  two  friends, 
John  Durie  and  Archibald  Stewart,  called  about  midday, 

1  Killigrew  to  Cecil,  6tli  October  1572.  Knox,  JVor/cs,  vi.  633. 
-  See  Appendix  F,  "  Knox's  Places  of  Residence  in  Edinburgh." 
3  Bannatyne  is  our  chief  authority  regarding  Knox's  last  days  ;  but  a 
few  details  are  also  supplied  by  Thomas  Smeton  in  his  reply  to  Archibald 
Hamilton.  Smeton's  work  is  entitled,  Ad  virttlejitian  A^xJiibaldi 
Hamiltonii  apostatcB  Dialoguni,  De  Confiisione  Calviniana  sectce  apud 
Scotos,  impie  conscriptiim^  ortJiodoxa  responsio.  Cf.  Knox,  IVorJts,  vi. 
645  et  seq.  Calderwood  in  his  account  of  Knox's  death  takes  his  facts 
from  Bannatyne. 


286  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

apparently  unaware  that  he  was  not  in  a  state  to  re- 
ceive them.  To  show  his  good  feehng  he  exerted 
himself  to  sit  at  table,  and  ordered  a  hogshead  of  wine 
to  be  broached  in  their  honour.  As  long  as  the  wine 
lasted,  he  told  them,  they  must  continue  to  send  for  it, 
as  he  himself  "  wald  never  tarie  untill  it  wer  drunkin." 
On  Monday  the  17th  the  office-bearers  of  St.  Giles's 
came  at  his  express  desire  that  he  might  say  the  last 
words  they  should  hear  from  him.  For  himself,  he 
said,  he  had  taught  nothing  but  true  and  sound  doc- 
trine. If  he  had  ever  spoken  harshly  of  any  man,  it 
was  from  no  ill  feeling  against  his  person,  but  for  the 
evil  that  abode  in  him.  Never  had  he  made  merchan- 
dise out  of  the  gospel  it  had  been  his  privilege  to 
preach.  On  the  great  question  of  the  day  his  last 
counsel  was  that  no  truce  should  be  made  with  those 
in  the  Castle,  so  long  as  they  persisted  in  their  present 
purposes.  A  few  days  before  Lethington  had  com- 
plained to  the  kirk-session  that  Knox  had  in  public 
and  private  slandered  him  as  "an  enemy  to  all  religion." 
In  the  state  in  which  he  was,  Knox  had  been  unable 
to  answer  the  complaint ;  but  he  now  appealed  to 
those  who  heard  him  if  the  allegation  were  not  borne 
out  by  Lethington's  own  actions.  For  Kirkcaldy  of 
Grange  all  his  old  affection  awoke,  and  he  made  one 
last  effort  to  persuade  him  of  his  errors.  Lawson  and 
David  Lindsay,  the  minister  of  Leith,  conveyed  this 
last  message,  which  at  the  time  was  slightingly  re- 
ceived by  Grange,  but  less  than  a  year  later  was 
recalled  in  circumstances  that  were  a  terrible  com- 
mentary on  Knox's  dying  counsel.^ 

1  On  the  capture  of  the  Castle  of  Edinburgh  the  following  year, 
Grange  was  taken  prisoner  and  publicly  executed.  In  his  last  hours  he 
was  attended  by  David  Lindsay,  who  had  conveyed  Knox's  dying  mes- 


LAST  DA  YS  287 


Two  days  later  Morton,  Boyd,  and  the  laird  of 
Drumlanrig  came  and  held  talk  with  him  on  matters 
that  were  never  divulged.^  Other  nobles  and  barons 
— Lindsay,  Ruthven,  and  Glencairn  among  the  rest — 
also  came  to  offer  their  services  and  to  spend  a  few 
moments  by  his  bedside.  To  a  certain  lady  of  rank 
who  was  praising  his  services  to  the  Church  he  showed 
a  flash  of  his  old  spirit  in  his  stern  rebuke  of  her  ill- 
timed  flattery.  "  Ladie  !  ladie  !  "  he  exclaimed,  "  the 
blake  ox  hes  never  tramplit  yet  upoun  your  foote." 
On  Friday  the  21st  he  directed  Bannatyne  to  give 
orders  for  his  coffin  ;  but  he  had  still  three  days  to 
live.  On  Sunday  during  the  time  of  sermon  he 
thought  the  end  had  come,  and  called  on  the  standers- 
by  to  "  sie  the  worke  of  God."  The  last  night  of  his 
life  he  passed  in  a  spiritual  wrestle  such  as  he  had 
never  known  before  :  Satan,  he  declared,  had  tried 
him  with  a  new  form  of  temptation — the  plea  that  his 
own  merits  were  sufficient  in  the  sight  of  God  ;  but 
by  special  grace  he  had  gained  his  final  victory. 

The  last  day  came  at  length — the  24th  of  Novem- 
ber. About  nine  or  ten  in  the  morning  he  insisted  on 
rising,  and  sat  in  his  chair  for  half  an  hour.  All 
through  his  illness  favourite  chapters  had  been  read  to 
him  from  the  Bible — specially  the  53rd  of  Isaiah  and 
the  17th  of  the  Gospel  of  John,  "  in  which  he  had  first 
cast  anchor  "  ;  and  on  this  last  day  he  was  still  able  to 
listen  to  certain  passages  which  comforted  him.  At 
five  in  the  afternoon  he  requested  his  wife  to  read 
once  more  the  chapter  in  John,  and  though  he  seemed 

sage  to  him.  Melville  in  his  Diary  (pp.  28,  29)  gives  an  account  of  the 
last  moments  of  Grange,  which  would  satisfy  the  taste  of  the  most 
exacting  realist  of  the  present  day. 

^  In  his  famous  Confession  Morton  professed  to  give  the  purport 
of  his  last  interview  with  Knox. — Caldervvood,  iii.  569. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 


to  sleep  he  signified  that  he  had  heard  every  word. 
About  half-past  ten  the  usual  household  worship  was 
held,  and  he  followed  the  service  with  a  joyful  fervour 
which  he  expressed  to  all  who  were  present.  Towards 
eleven  there  came  from  him  "  a  long  sigh  and  sob," 
and  with  the  exclamation,  "  Now  it  is  come,"  he 
entered  on  the  last  struggle.  Asked  to  give  a  parting 
sign  that  he  was  at  peace,  he  lifted  his  hand,  and 
apparently  without  pain  passed  quietly  away.  On  the 
same  day,  adds  the  faithful  chronicler,  the  Earl  of 
Morton  was  proclaimed  Regent  of  Scotland. 

On  the  Wednesday  the  26th  Knox  was  buried  in  the 
graveyard  which  then  lay  to  the  south  of  the  church 
of  St.  Giles,  the  funeral  being  attended  by  all  the 
nobility  who  chanced  to  be  in  the  town.  As  he  stood 
by  the  grave,  the  Regent  Morton,  with  that  sententious- 
ness  of  speech  for  which  he  was  noted, ^  pronounced  the 
memorable  eulogy  on  the  dead — "  Here  lies  one  who 
neither  flattered  nor  feared  any  flesh."-  The  burial- 
ground  where  Knox  was  laid  has  long  since  dis- 
appeared,^ but  immediately  behind  the  church,  and, 
by  a  curious  freak  of  circumstance,  under  the  very 
shadow  of  an  equestrian  statue  of  Charles  II.,  a  flat 
stone  now  marks  the  spot  to  which  tradition  points  as 
the  resting-place  of  Knox. 

1  "  He  [Morton]  keipit  the  sam  countenance,  gestour,  and  scliorf 
se7itentius  for/n  of  lafigitage  upon  the  skafifalde,  quhilk  he  usit  in  his 
prinche  government." — Melville,  Diary,  p.  84. 

-  As  reported  by  Calderwood  (iii.  242),  Morton's  words  were  as 
follow  :  "  Here  lyeth  a  man  who,  in  his  life  never  feared  the  face  of 
man  :  who  hath  beene  often  threatned  with  dag  and  dager,  but  yitt  hath 
ended  his  dayes  in  peace  and  honour.  For  he  had  God's  providence 
watching  over  him  in  a  speciall  maner,  when  his  verie  life  ^as  sought." 
The  speech  given  in  the  text  is  from  Melville's  Diary  (p.  47),  and  seems 
more  in  accordance  with  the  occasion  and  with  Morton's  laconic  habit. 

^  In  1633,  when  the  Parliament  House  and  other  buildings  were 
erected  on  the  site  it  occupied. 


CONCLUSION  289 


By  his  first  wife,  Marjory  Bowes,  Knox  had  two 
sons,  Nathanael  and  Eleazer,  born  in  Geneva  in  1557 
and  1558.  Eight  days  after  their  father's  death  they 
matriculated  at  the  University  of  Cambridge/  Both 
became  fellows  of  St.  John's  College,  and  the  second 
son  Eleazer  was  subsequently  vicar  of  Clacton  Magna 
in  the  Archdeaconry  of  Colchester.'  Nathanael  died 
in  1580  in  his  twenty-third  year,  and  his  brother 
survived  him  till  1591.  By  his  second  wife,  Margaret 
Stewart,  Knox  had  three  daughters,  Martha,  Margaret, 
and  Elizabeth,  all  of  whom  were  married.  Of  other 
relatives  Knox  mentions  only  his  brother  William, 
and  his  son  Paul.  As  far  as  has  been  ascertained,  no 
lineal  descendant  of  Knox  exists.^ 

At  the  time  of  his  death  the  whole  substance  of 
Knox,  more  than  half  of  which  consisted  of  moneys 
due  to  him,  amounted  to  ^1526  :  19  :  6,  Scottish  money. 
To  fix  the  relative  value  of  money  for  this  period  is 
perhaps  impossible  ;  but  whatever  this  sum  may  indi- 
cate, the  fact  is  that  the  wife  and  daughters  of  Knox 
were  left  in  poverty.  So  true  were  the  words  of  his 
will,  "  Nane  I  haif  corrupted,  nane  I  haif  defraudit  ; 
merchandise  haif  I  not  maid."  *  On  the  very  day  of 
his  burial,  however,  the  Regent  Morton  wrote  a  letter 
to  the  General  Assembly  in  which  he  "  effectuously 
required  "  that  Knox's  stipend  should  be  paid  to  his 
widow  for  the  year  following  his  death.     The  Assembly 

1  There  is  no  ground  for  the  common  statement  that  it  was  by 
Knox's  wish  that  they  entered  the  EngUsh  Church. 

2  For  an  interesting  account  of  Knox's  sons  see  an  article  in  the  Scots 
Magazine  for  December  1894,  by  the  Rev.  Ur.  Leishman. 

^  Laing  has  collected  all  the  information  that  seems  to  exist  regard- 
ing Knox's  family. — Knox,  Works,  vi.  pp.  Ixi.  et  seq.  Knox's  second 
daughter,  Margaret,  married  Zachary  Pont,  the  brother  of  Timothy 
Pont,  the  geographer ;  and  his  third  daughter,  Elizabeth,  Mr.  John 
Welsh,  one  of  the  most  notable  Presbyterian  ministers  of  his  time. 

*  Knox,  Last  Will  and  Testament;  Bannatyne,  Appendix,  p.  370. 
VOL.  II  19 


290  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

did  not  meet  till  March  of  the  next  year ;  but  it  then 
readily  responded  to  Morton's  request,  as  remember- 
ing the  "  long  and  faithfull  travells "  of  the  leader 
whom  they  had  lost.^ 

In  a  letter  to  Beza,  of  which  an  account  is  given 
elsewhere,^  Peter  Young,  best  known  as  Buchanan's 
assistant  in  the  education  of  James  VI.,  thus  describes 
the  personal  appearance  of  Knox  before  he  was 
shattered  by  his  last  illness  :  "In  stature  he  was 
slightly  under  the  middle  height,  of  well-knit  and 
graceful  figure,  with  shoulders  somewhat  broad,  longish 
fingers,  head  of  moderate  size,  hair  black,  complexion 
somewhat  dark,  and  general  appearance  not  unpleasing. 
In  his  stern  and  severe  countenance  there  was  a 
natural  dignity  and  majesty  not  without  a  certain 
grace,  and  in  anger  there  was  an  air  of  command  on 
his  brow.  Under  a  somewhat  narrow  forehead  his 
brows  stood  out  in  a  slight  ridge  over  his  ruddy  and 
slightly  swelling  cheeks,  so  that  his  eyes  seemed  to 
retreat  into  his  head.  The  colour  of  his  eyes  was 
bluish-gray,  their  glance  keen  and  animated.  His 
face  was  rather  long ;  his  nose  of  more  than  ordinary 
length  ;  the  mouth  large ;  the  lips  full,  the  upper  a 
little  thicker  than  the  lower ;  his  beard  black  mingled 
with  gray,  a  span  and  a  half  long  and  moderately  thick." 

Judged  by  the  scale  and  significance  of  his  work, 
Knox  may  fairly  be  called  a  figure  of  European  im- 
portance. More  than  any  other  man  he  has  a  right  to 
be  called  the  founder  of  Puritanism  in  England.  By 
his  five  years'  labour  in  that  country  he  left  a   per- 

1  Works^  vi.  pp.  Ixvi.  Ixvii. 

2  See  Appendix  G,  "The  Portrait  and  Personal  Appearance  of  John 
Knox." 


CONCLUSION  \  291 


manent  stamp  at  once  on  ritual  and  doctrim^  ;  and  In 
Frankfort  and  Geneva,  where  Puritanism  firstv  gained 
a  clear  consciousness  of  itself,  he  continued  th?s  in- 
fluence with  still  more  direct  and  more  abiding  resuits. 
Among  the  English  exiles  in  both  of  these  towns  h(? 
held  the  first  place — being,  as  we  have  seen,  their 
minister  and  teacher  and  chosen  champion;  while  in  the 
work  these  men  afterwards  did  in  their  own  country 
they  perpetuated  the  spirit  they  had  imbibed  during 
the  four  years  they  listened  to  Knox  in  Geneva.  By 
the  victory  of  Knox  in  Scotland  he  gave  still  another 
impulse  to  Puritanism  in  England,  which  it  may  be 
difficult  to  appraise,  but  which  was  none  the  less 
operative  and  real.  In  France,  also,  he  has  a  part  in 
the  development  of  religion,  which  earned  for  him  the 
malediction  of  French  Catholic  historians.  Through 
his  preaching  more  than  that  of  any  other,  Dieppe 
became  the  "  La  Rochelle  of  the  North  "  ;  and  thus 
materially  affected  the  course  of  the  reformed  religion 
in  France. 

But  it  is  by  his  achievement  in  his  own  country 
that  his  relative  place  must  be  assigned  among  the 
great  characters  of  history.  However  the  tendency  of 
that  achievement  may  be  regarded,  of  its  far-reaching 
issues  no  doubt  can  exist.  Had  Mary  on  her  return 
to  Scotland  found  her  people  united  in  their  allegi- 
ance to  Rome  and  their  predilection  for  France,  the 
course  of  British  history  must  have  been  different 
from  what  it  has  actually  been.  With  three-fourths 
of  her  subjects  Catholic,  Elizabeth  could  not  have 
held  her  own  against  a  sovereign  in  Mary's  position, 
backed  by  the  dominant  opinion  of  Europe.  But 
to  Knox  more  than  to  any  other  single  person  was 
due    that    revolution    in    policy    and    religion    which 


292  LIFE   OF  JOHN  KNOX 

put  it  out  of  Mary's  power  to  realise  the  destiny 
which  seemed  to  await  her.  In  the  revolution  of 
1567;  which  completed  the  work  of  1560,  the  influence 
of  Knox  is  less  apparent  only  because  his  own  pen 
ias  not  described  it.  In  reality,  the  part  he  bore  in 
the  settlement  that  followed  the  dethronement  of  Mary 
was  asj  conspicuous  and  as  significant  as  in  the  over- 
throw of  her  mother.  In  the  following  century  it  lay 
again  with  Scotland  to  determine  at  a  critical  period 
the  course  of  events  in  the  two  countries  ;  for  in  the 
quarrel  of  the  English  Parliament  with  Charles  I.,  it 
was  the  action  of  Presbyterian  Scotland  that  decided 
the  issue  between  them. 

But  the  revolution  of  1560  was  not  the  mere 
substitution  of  one  religion  for  another :  it  was  the 
highest  consciousness  of  the  nation  deliberately  choos- 
ing between  the  old  and  the  new  order,  between 
authority  on  the  one  hand  and  individualism  on  the 
other.  In  its  violent  breach  with  the  past  the  Scottish 
character  and  genius  were  for  the  first  time  revealed 
in  their  essential  aptitudes  and  affinities.  As  realised 
in  Scotland  the  Reformation  has  a  character  all  its 
own  ;  and  the  best  proof  that  it  was  no  outcome  of 
mere  temporary  circumstance  is  the  persistence  of  its 
spirit  and  teaching  among  the  people  that  adopted  it. 
Broadly  viewed,  the  true  worth  of  Knox  was  that  in 
a  measure  beyond  any  other  of  his  countrymen  he 
revealed  the  heart  and  mind  of  the  nation  to  itself, 
and  thus  made  clear  its  precise  vocation  among  the 
peoples.  Among  the  great  personages  of  the  past  it 
would  be  difficult  to  name  one  who  in  the  same  degree 
has  vitalised  and  dominated  the  collective  energies  of 
his  countrymen. 

What  is  true  of  all  leaders  of  men  is  specially  true 


CONCLUSION  293 


of  Knox  —  to  understand  him  we  must  distinguish 
between  the  man  and  his  function.  By  the  conditions 
under  which  his  work  was  done,  it  is  in  his  function 
as  prophet  and  revolutionary  that  he  stands  before  the 
world  in  rigid  and  immitigable  traits.  Except  for  a 
few  years  in  Geneva,  Knox,  during  every  part  of  his 
career,  found  himself  in  deadly  battle  with  the  pre- 
vailing powers  around  him.  His  whole  public  life  was 
thus  absorbed  by  the  mere  struggle  to  hold  the  ground 
he  had  won,  or  to  push  his  advantage  over  the  enemy. 
In  the  six  volumes  that  make  up  his  writings  there  is 
hardly  a  passage  that  directly  or  indirectly  does  not 
bear  on  the  work  to  which  he  gave  his  life.  With  the 
men  who  stood  by  his  side  and  their  immediate 
successors  the  conditions  were  the  same.  Hence 
alike  in  his  own  writings  and  in  the  contemporary 
and  traditional  notices  of  him,  it  is  the  traits  of  the 
apostle  that  are  almost  exclusively  reported.  Of  the 
man  in  his  home,  in  his  friendships,  in  the  unconscious 
action  that  discovers  the  temper  and  the  will,  we  have 
for  the  most  part  only  those  casual  suggestions  which 
have  been  emphasised  in  the  preceding  pages. 

What  has  been  said  of  all  religion  when  it  takes 
full  possession  of  man's  nature  is  eminently  true  of 
the  religion  of  Knox :  it  was  something  "  savage  and 
bare,  but  infinitely  strong."  It  was  the  religion  of 
St.  Columba,  who  rushed  knee-deep  into  the  sea  after 
a  sacrilegious  robber,  pursuing  him  with  curses  ;  ^  of 
St.  Bernard,  who  believed  that  the  slaying  of  an  infidel 
was  a  service  to  God  ;  of  a  religious  leader  of  our  own 
time,  who  said  that  a  heresiarch  should  meet  with  no 
mercy,  "as  If  he  were  embodied  evll."^     Among  the 

1  Adamnan's  Life  of  Cohiniba  (Historians  of  Scotland),  p.  166. 

2  Cardinal    Newman.      Newman,   it    should   be    said,   carefully  dis- 


294  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

men  who  led  the  great  schism  from  Rome  there  is 
no  one  who  by  his  character  and  work  may  be  fitly  com- 
pared with  Knox.  In  the  circumstances  under  which 
Luther  carried  through  his  labours,  there  was  no 
call  for  the  peculiar  qualities  that  were  needed  in 
Scotland.  From  the  first  Luther  found  a  prince  able 
and  willing  to  protect  him,  and  to  the  end  he  was 
never  subjected  to  the  constant  pressure  of  immediate 
hostility  which  is  apt  to  beget  a  narrow  and  truculent 
intensity.  In  Calvin  we  have  the  systematic  thinker 
and  practical  organiser — functions  which  Knox  was 
never  privileged  to  exercise  even  if  he  had  been  fitted 
to  discharge  them.  As  the  leader  of  a  religious  revolt 
Savonarola  offers  an  obvious  parallel  to  the  Scottish 
reformer,  which  in  its  points  of  likeness  and  contrast 
emphasises  the  distinctive  qualities  of  each.  In  both 
we  have  the  same  absolute  religion,  the  same  blasting 
denunciation,  the  same  gift  of  infectious  enthusiasm. 
By  his  picturesque  environment,  his  poetical  eloquence, 
his  tragic  end,  Savonarola  is  the  more  attractive  figure 
for  the  imagination.  On  the  other  hand,  in  the 
J  practical  sense  of  Knox  combined  with  unflagging 
zeal,  we  have  precisely  what  distinguishes  the  great 
religious  leader  from  the  mere  religious  visionary. 
To  the  shrewd  and  homely  Scottish  preacher  the 
"  burning  of  the  vanities,"  the  ecstatic  visions  and 
spiritual  antics  of  the  last  years  of  Savonarola,  would 

tinguished  between  his  natural  human  feeling,  and  the  sentiments  that 
became  him  as  an  orthodox  son  of  his  Church.  In  his  History  of  the 
Arian  Heresy  he  had  said  :  "  The  latter  [the  heresiarch]  should  meet 
with  no  mercy  :  he  assumes  the  office  of  the  Tempter ;  and,  so  far  forth 
as  his  error  goes,  must  be  dealt  with  by  the  competent  authority,  as  if 
he  were  embodied  evil."  Commenting  on  this  passage  in  his  Apologia 
pro  vita  sua,  p.  47  (1873),  he  says,  that  "not  even  when  I  was  fiercest 
could  I  have  even  cut  off  a  Puritan's  ears,  and  I  think  the  sight  of  a 
Spanish  auto-da-fh  would  have  been  the  death  of  me." 


CONCLUSION  295 


have  seemed  the  mere  tricks  of  Satan  in  mimicry  of 
the  kingdom  of  heaven. 

Besides  being  a  great  historical  figure,  Knox  is 
emphatically  a  typical  man  of  his  own  people.  In  the 
four  great  personalities  whom  Scotland  has  produced — 
Knox,  Buchanan,  Burns,  and  Carlyle — there  are  dis- 
tinctive features  which  mark  them  off  from  a  similar 
succession  in  any  other  country.  The  great  characters 
of  England  are  men  of  another  order  from  these  four 
Scotsmen,  in  all  of  whom  there  is  a  substantial  likeness 
that  cannot  be  missed.  Between  Buchanan  and  Burns 
as  between  Knox  and  Carlyle,  there  is  a  family 
resemblance  that  is  evident  on  the  surface  :  what  is 
common  to  all  four  is  a  primitive  force  of  passion,  an 
inborn  unrest,  which  constitutes  their  individuality  as 
men  of  action  and  genius.  As  the  exaggerated  type 
of  his  own  countrymen,  Knox,  like  Voltaire  and  Dr. 
Johnson,  necessarily  repels  men  of  other  nations ; 
while  his  own  people,  even  those  who  differ  most 
widely  from  his  religious  and  political  teaching,  regard 
even  his  asperities  with  the  kindly  allowance  that  is 
made  for  family  idiosyncrasies.^ 

By  the  conditions  of  his  work,  as  has  been  said, 
the  social  side  of  Knox's  nature  has  been  hardly 
touched  either  by  himself  or  those  who  have  spoken 
of  him.  That  this  social  side  had  its  own  place  in  the 
life  of  himself  and  his  co-workers  there  is  excellent 
evidence  to  prove.  Touches  there  are,  indeed,  which 
indicate  that,  points  of  doctrine  apart,  Luther  himself 

^  Thus,  Sir  William  Stirling-Maxwell,  a  conservative  by  instinct  and 
conviction,  speaks  in  the  warmest  terms  of  Knox.  Of  Knox's  services 
to  his  country  Sir  William  says  :  "  No  man  in  England  or  Scotland  who 
values  liberty,  national,  civil,  or  religious,  can  speak  of  Knox  without 
reverence  and  gratitude." — Miscellaneous  Essays  and  Addresses  (1891), 
pp.  298,  299. 


296  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 

would  not  have  found  Knox  an  uncongenial  spirit.     It 
was  customary,  it  would  seem,  to  transact  religious  busi- 
ness at  a  friendly  feast ;  ^  and  we  are  told  of  a  certain 
godly  minister  who    objected    to   the    "  lang  denners 
and  suppers  at  General  Assemblies." "     Of   Andrew 
Melville,  a  more   uncompromising   spirit   than    Knox 
himself,  we  read  that  he  "  warranted  "  his  opinion  for 
"  a  pint  of  wine,"  his  opponent,  also  a  minister,  offering 
to  make  it  a  quart.^     At  table  his  nephew  tells  us  that 
it   was   Melville's   usual   custom   to   "  interlace   mirrie 
interludes,"  and  to  drink  to  the  health  of  his  various 
guests.^     That  Knox  would  not  be  a  marfeast  at  such 
entertainments  the  humorous  strokes  in  his   History 
sufficiently  assure  us  ;  and  with  his  varied  experience 
of  life  from  king's  courts  to  the  galleys,  his  ready  wit 
and  effective  speech,  he  could  hardly  fail  to  be  the  soul 
of  every  company  into  which  he  was  thrown.      But  be- 
sides mere  responsive  geniality,  there  was  indubitably 
in  Knox  a  soul  of  yearning  that  made  human  affection 
a  necessity  of  his  nature.^     Rien  nest  tendre  comme 
IhoTfiine  austere  ;  and  the  essential  tenderness  of  Knox 
is  vouched  by  the  love  of  women,  by  abiding  friendships, 
by  the  idolatrous  regard  of  those  who,  like  Richard 
Bannatyne,  went    in    and    out   with    him  in    intimate 
contact  of  mind  with  mind  and  soul  with  soul. 

In  estimating  great  historical  figures  at  such  a 
distance  from  us  as  Knox  we  must  take  account,  on  the 
one  hand,  of  the  opinions  of  individual  thinkers,  and, 
on  the  other,  of  the  deposited  impression  of  collective 
bodies  of  men.  In  the  case  of  Knox  both  testimonies 
have   been   forthcoming   with   unmistakable   clearness 

1  Melville,  Diary,  p.  87.  2  /^/^/^  p_  53, 

3  Ibid.  p.  50.  4  /^/^/_  p_   103. 

^  His  own  expression  may  be  recalled  here  :   "I  have  rather  need  of 
all  then  that  any  hath  need  of  me." 


CONCLUSION  \  297 


and  emphasis.  To  men  of  strong  theoli?§^^^^^  cc)^- 
victions,  but  doctrinally  opposed  to  his  own,  ^^  "^^ 
always  seemed  a  wild  heresiarch,  permitted  t>y  an 
inscrutable  providence  to  work  strange  havoc  in  ^he 
Christian  Church.  To  artists  and  men  of  letters  of  ^ 
certain  type  he  has  appeared  as  a  mere  "  scourge  of 
God,"  who  is  properly  ranked  with  apparitions  like 
Attila  or  Timour.  On  the  other  hand,  thinkers  as 
wide  as  the  poles  apart  from  him  in  their  views  of 
human  life  and  destiny,  have  seen  in  Knox  one  of  the 
great  emancipators  of  humanity,  whose  work  left 
undone  would  irremediably  have  injured  the  highest 
interests  not  only  of  his  own  country  but  of  the  com- 
munity of  civilised  nations.^  In  every  Christian 
country,  also,  there  have  been  men  of  the  same 
temper  as  himself,  who  have  regarded  Knox  as  the 
exponent  of  a  religion  which  by  its  absolute  acceptance 
of  the  facts  of  life,  its  unflinching  distinction  between 
good  and  evil,  between  the  natural  man  and  the  man 
of  the  spirit,  is  the  truest  expression  of  the  mind  of 
the  Founder  of  Christianity. 

But  in  the  case  of  all  men  who  have  distinguished 
themselves  beyond  their  fellows,  the  definitive  judg- 
ment must  rest  with  the  people  from  whom  they 
spring,  and   to  whom    the   heritage  of  their    labours 

1  The  opinions  of  two  very  different  thinkers  regarding  the  work 
of  Knox  may  be  quoted.  Renan  {Hist,  du  Peuple  d'Israel,  iii. 
155)  has  the  following  passage:  "II  nous  est  bien  permis  au  XIX® 
si&cle  d'etre  pour  Marie  Stuart  contre  Knox  ;  mais  au  XVP  siecle  le  pro- 
testantisme  fanatique  servait  mieux  la  cause  de  progres  que  le  Catholi- 
cisme,  meme  relache."  More  sympathetically  V^&\dertr  {Giffbrd Lec/ures, 
i.  4)  says  :  "  But  as  regards  Knox's  activity,  in  what  else  did  it  consist 
but  in  the  establishment  or  restoration  of  Naticral  Christia7tiiy  ?  His 
object  was  to  free  Christianity  from  the  deformation  and  disguises  which 
it  had  suffered  in  the  dogmas,  worship,  and  hierarchy  of  the  Roman 
Church,  and  to  bring  its  genuine,  original,  or  natural  truth  in  faith  and 
morals  again  to  recognition." 


298 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 


IS  a  permanent  and  vital  question  of  the  balance  of 
good  or  ill.  In  this  final  court  of  appeal  the  judgment 
is  un'^ieniably  for  Knox  and  against  all  his  cavillers. 
For'  the  mass  of  his  countrymen — those  who  have 
Snaped  the  nation's  destinies  in  the  past  as  they  must 
shape  them  in  the  future — Knox  is  the  greatest  person 
their  country  has  produced,  and  the  man  to  whom  in 
all  that  makes  a  people  great  they  owe  the  deepest 
and  most  abiding  debt.  "  What  I  have  been  to  my 
country,"  he  himself  said  when  within  sight  of  the  end 
he  looked  back  on  the  long  travail  of  his  life,  "  what  I 
have  been  to  my  country,  albeit  this  unthankful  age 
will  not  know,  yet  the  ages  to  come  will  be  compelled 
to  bear  witness  to  the  truth  ; "  ^  and  the  consenting 
testimony  of  three  centuries  is  the  evidence  and 
pledge  that  his  assurance  was  not  in  vain. 


1    Works^  vi.  596. 


KNOX  S    BURIAL-PLACE 


APPENDIX  A  (vol.  i.  p.  i66) 

CONDITIONS    OF    THE    GRANT    OF    THE    CHURCH    OF    THE    WHITE 
LADIES    IN    FRANKFORT 

I  AM  indebted  to  the  Rev.  Professor  Mitchell  of  St.  Andrews  for 
the  following  extract,  which  states  precisely  the  exact  conditions  on 
which  the  use  of  the  Church  of  the  White  Ladies  was  permitted  to 
the  English  exiles  : — 

"  Nun  war  bey  Ankunft  der  Engellander  eine  Kirche  in  Frank- 
furt, die  einigen  franzosischen  Protestanten  zum  Gebrauch  einge- 
raumt  war,  welche  nun  auch  zum  Behuf  der  Engellander  in  Vorschlag 
gebracht,  und  am  14  Julii  ihnen  wirklich  angewiesen  wurde. 
Doch  machte  der  Rath  gewisse  Ordnungen,  und  suchte  die  Sache 
also  einzurichten,  das  allerlei  Disputen,  die  etwa  entstehen  mbgten, 
der  Weg  verlaget  wurde.  Die  vornehmsten  waren  diese  :  (a)  dass 
die  Engellander  und  Franzosen  einerley  Lehre  und  Ceremonien 
fiihren  soUten  ;  Daher  sollten  jene  (d)  der  Franzosen  Glaubens- 
bekantniss,  das  diese  N.B.  dem  Rath  liberreichet  batten,  unter- 
schreiben.  (c)  Liessen  sich  die  Engellander  gefallen,  dass  das  Volk 
bey  dem  gemeinen  Gebet  das  Amen  nicht  mehr  laut  sagen  sollte, 
wie  sonst  in  der  Kirche  von  Engelland  iiblich  ist.  (d)  Dass  die 
Prediger  das  weisse  Chorhemde,  nebst  vielen  andern  in  Engelland 
eingefiihrten  Ceremonien  abschaffen  sollten,  als  welche  den  Ein- 
wohnern,  die  solcher  Dinge  ungewohnt  waren,  einstossig  seyn  konnten. 
Und  was  der  gleichen  Umstande  mehr  waren,  welche  die  Engellander, 
um  desto  eher  zum  Stande  zu  kommen,  freiwillig  eingiengen." 

J.  Hildebrand  Withof,  "  Vertheidigung  der  .  .  .  Nachricht  wie 
es  mit  V.  Pollane  erstem  Reformirten  Prediger  zu  Frankfurt-am-Mayn 
•   •  .  zugegangen,"  1753,  folio. 


APPENDIX  B  (vol.  ii.  p.  31) 

FROM    MSS.    IN    THE    POSSESSION    OF    A.    MORRISON,    ESQ. 

Memoire  des  affaires  d'escosse  pour  d'iceulx  estre  escript  a  nre  S 
pere  le  pape  de  la  part  du  Roy  daulphin  et  Royne  daulphine  soubz 
le  bon  plaisir  et  Intencion  du  Roy. 

premierement 

Comme  depuis  quatre  ans  en  ca  la  dicte  dame  et  la  Royne 
Regente  du  diet  Royaulme  sa  mere  ont  fait  continuellement  entendre 
a  sa  s"^'*^  Tant  par  le  Reverendissime  cardinal  sermonette  protecteur 
du  diet  Royaulme,  Que  autres  ses  parens  amys  et  alliez  la  necessite 
qu'avoit  la  Republicque  d'icelles  d'ung  bon  ferme  et  perpetuel 
establissement  de  justice  pour  contenir  ses  subgects  en  devoir  et 
obeissance  spirituelle  et  temporelle  ensemble  le  besoing  qu'avoient  les 
gens  d'eglise  du  diet  Royaulme  d'une  grande  et  severe  Refformacion 
avecques  Reiglement  tant  de  la  faulte  qu'ilz  faisoient  d'instruire  le 
peuple  en  la  parolle  de  Dieu  Que  a  cause  de  la  depravation  et  cor- 
ruption de  leurs  meurs  et  fagons  de  vivre,  dont  les  seculiers  estoient 
tellement  scandalisez  qu'ilz  entroient  en  contempnement  et  mespris 
de  la  Religion  ^  et  de  I'eglise  Romaine. 

Comme  aus  dictes  necessitez  n'estoit  possible  a  la  dicte  dame 
bonnement  pourvevir  sans  I'ayde  et  faveur  de  la  dicte  sainctete. 
Ayant  icelle  dame  la  guerre  sur  les  bras  contre  les  Anglois  et  peu  de 
Revenu  a  sa  couronne,  de  la  quelle  ses  predecesseurs  ont  distrait 
meilleure  part  du  patrimoyne,  pour  doner  et  enrichir  les  eglises  du 
diet  Royaulme. 

Pour  lesquelles  causes  et  autres  plus  au  long  declairees  par  les 
memoires  cy-devant  envoyez  la  dicte  dame  auroit  fait  tres  humble- 
ment  supplier  la  dicte  sainctete  de  luy  vouloir  ayder  et  subvenir  en 
cas  si  urgents  et  Raisonnables,  et  a  ceste  fin  luy  taxer  et  assigner 
une  bonne  somme  de  deniers  en  Rente  et  Revenu  annuel  sur  le 
patrimonie  des  eglises  de  son  diet  Royaulme  pour  I'establissement 

1  Regilion,  MS. 


APP.  B]         MEMOIRE  DBS  AFFAIRES  D'ESCOSSE  301 

de  la  dicte  justice.  Suyvant  pareil  octroy  qui  auparavant  auroit  este 
fait  tant  a  ses  predecesseurs.  Et  pour  la  Reformacion  et  Reiglement 
de  I'eglise  deleguer  et  envoyer  es  partyes  du  diet  Royaulme  quelsques 
bons  saints  et  notables  personnaiges  instruicts  de  toutes  choses  re- 
quises  et  necessaires,  Comme  en  semblable  auroit  este  fait  auparavant 
par  de  bonne  memoire  pape  Paule  troiz'"^  Lequel  de  son  temps 
par  deux  diverses  fois  envoya  le  patriarche  d'Aquilee,  Grimain,  et 
I'evesque  de  Veronne,  Lypomain,  avec  bonnes  et  grosses  sommes 
de  deniers  pour  pareille  Refformacion  et  le  soustenement  et  deffence 
de  I'eglise  Romaine  contre  les  nouvelles  sectes  qui  commancerent 
lors  a  seslever  au  diet  Royaulme  par  le  moyen  de  leurs  voisins  suivant 
I'eglise  changee  en  Angleterre. 

A  laquelle  supplicacion  la  dicte  s'^'^  occupee  comme  il  est  croyable 
a  autres  affaires  et  pour  quelque  bonne  occasion  n'auroit  peu  vacquer 
et  auroit  tousjours  differe  faire  response  resolutive.  Et  cependant 
et  que  la  dicte  dame  a  este  empeschee  en  la  dicte  guerre  contre  ses 
voisins  est  advenu  que  par  la  negligence  des  prelatz  ceste  doctrine 
nouvelle  qu'ilz  appellent  evangelicque  a  este  secretement  et  soubz 
main  semee  et  enseignee  par  plusieurs  partyes  du  diet  Royaume  au 
desceu  de  la  dicte  dame  et  de  la  dicte  dame  Regente  sa  mere. 
Laquelle  ayant  este  finablement  advertye  que  en  lune  des  villes 
d'icelluy  Royaulme  s'estoit  esleve  ung  predicant.  Instruisant  et 
enseignant  le  peuple  publicquement  soubz  la  faveur  des  cytoiens 
dicelle  ville  a  la  forme  de  I'eglise  de  Geneve  auroit  fait  toute  dilligence 
d'admonester  les  prelatz  d'assembler  Incontinant  le  clerge  pour 
deliberer  et  trouver  quelque  bon  expedient  premierement  pour  re- 
former leur  maniere  de  vivre  et  apres  pour  reprimer  ceste  dicte 
doctrine  Promectant  la  dicte  dame  Regente  toute  concurrance  de  sa 
part. 

Et  neantmoings  ne  voullant  icelle  dame  pretermetre  dailleurs 
tous  moyens  de  obvyer  a  ung  si  grand  scandalle  auroit  assemble  les 
principaulx  des  estatz  du  diet  Royaulme  pensant  avoir  quelque  bon 
conseilet  ayded'eulx  a  ceste  fin  Avecques  lesquelz  tant  s'en  fault  qu'elle 
ait  trouve  le  secours  qu'elle  esperoit  en  cest  affaire.  Que  la  plus 
part  des  seigneurs  temporelz  luy  proposoient  a  part  et  hors  du 
conseil  certains  articles  touchans  I'exemption  de  la  jurisdiction  et 
charge  des  gens  d'eglise  et  I'establissement  en  partie  de  la  nouvelle 
Relligion.  Ce  que  la  dicte  dame  Royne  Regente  leur  reffusa  tout 
a  plus  les  advertissant  comme  son  devoir  le  requeroit  et  pareillement 
les  gens  d'eglise  de  faire  prompte  et  exacte  Refformacion  en  leur 
clerge  par  concille  provincial. 

Lequel  concille  a  este  veritablement  tenu  touttefois  sans  ce  qu'il 
en  soit  reussy  aulcun  fruict  ains  plus  tost  scandalle.  Qui  a  este 
cause  que  le  peuple  s'est  esmeu  et  esleue  a  faire  prescher  publicque- 
ment leurs  predicans  en  meilleures  parties  et  endroitz  du  diet 
Royaulme.     Et  mesmement  en  certaines  villes  d'icelluy. 


302  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX  [app.  b] 

A  quoy  voulant  la  dicte  dame  obvyer  par  tous  moyens  a  elle 
possibles.  Scion  les  forces  qu'clle  a  peu  mectre  ensemble,  se  sont 
enfin  descouvertz  ct  desclaircz  ouvertement  plusieurs  des  contcs,  lordz 
et  seigneurs  du  diet  pays  soubz  la  bannyerc  et  auctorite  dcsquelz 
s'est  faite  et  formee  une  congregacion  qu'ilz  disent  estre  pour 
I'advancemcnt  de  la  gloire  de  Dieu.  Laquelle  avec  main  armce  de 
ceste  hcure  s'est  mise  a  abbatre  les  ymages,  ruyner  aultelz  et  taber- 
nacles de  la  plus  part  des  eglises  du  diet  Royaulme,  prohiber  la 
messe  et  changer  les  seremonyes  accoustumees  en  Icelluy  Royaulme, 
Rager  les  chartreurs,  I'abbaye  de  Scun,  six  couvents  de  Cordeliers  et 
aultant  de  Jacobins.  Sans  avoir  pardonne  aux  arbres  fruictiers  des 
jardins  d'iceulx. 

Et  dujourd'huy  sont  en  Intencion  de  parachevers  {sic)  leurs  entre- 
prinses  et  Ruyner  et  desmolir  le  surplus  des  monasteres  et  couvents 
qui  restent.  Et  d'avantage  s'efforsent  contraindre  la  dicte  dame 
a  I'establissement  de  leur  dicte  religion.  A  quoy  ne  vouUant  icelle 
dame  obtemperer  mais  resister  a  son  povoir,  S'est  actendant  secours 
retiree  en  une  place  forte  du  diet  Royaulme.  Pour  n'avoir  de 
present  forces  suffisantes  pour  reprimer  le  rage  de  ceste  congregacion 
avec  laquelle  la  noblesse  les  villes  et  la  pluspart  du  populaire  con- 
cours  ^  apperteinent.  Et  le  surplus  connyve  de  telle  sorte  que  la 
dicte  dame  n'en  a  ayde  ne  faveur  aulcune.  Comme  aussy  n'a  elle 
des  prelatz  et  gens  de  I'estat  du  diet  clerge.  Lesquelz  se  sont 
absentz  de  sa  court  et  retirez  ou  bon  leur  a  semble.  Ne  scait  la 
dicte  dame  si  c'est  par  intelligence  ou  par  craincte. 

Et  pour  ce  que  le  peril  est  eminant,  et  le  feu  si  allume  que  s'il 
n'y  est  pourveu  d'heur  et  en  toute  dilligence  et  extremite.  II  y  a 
dangier  que  Ton  ne  puisse  jamays  voir  I'eglise  Romaine  Restauree 
au  diet  pais,  Que  avec  effusion  de  sang  universel  les  diets  s''  et 
dame  n'ont  voullu  faillir  de  faire  advertir  la  dicte  sainctete.  A 
laquelle  comme  chef  de  I'eglise  chrestienne.  La  tuicion  et  deffence 
de  ceste  cause  appartient  et  supplient  tres  humblement  icelle  de 
vouloir  contribuer  avec  leurs  ma'^^  a  les  ayder  d'argent  pour 
reprimer  cest  attemptat  fait  en  la  dicte  eglise.  Et  faire  pugnition 
de  ceulx  qui  seront  trouvez  faulteurs.  Et  neantmoings  deleguer  et 
envoyer  au  diet  Royaulme  aucuns  discrets  grands  et  capables 
personnaiges  pour  in  pugner  et  extirper  ceste  faulce  doctrine.  En 
quoy  faisant  ne  feront  les  diets  seigneur  et  dame  faulte  aleur  devoir 
tellement  qu'ilz  esperent  que  en  brief  la  gloire  et  honneur  de  Dieu 
sera  congneue  comme  auparavant  et  I'eglise  remise  en  sa  pristine 
liberte. 

1   Concuroe,  MS. 


APPENDIX  C  (vol.  ii.  p.  184) 

SLANDER    AGAINST    KNOX 

The  following  minute  from  the  Records  of  the  Town  Council  of 
Edinburgh  will  explain  itself: — 

"  \Zmo  Junii  1563. — The  samyn  day,  in  presence  of  the  baillies 
and  counsale,  comperit  Jhone  Gray,  scribe  to  the  kirk,  and  pre- 
sented the  supplicatione  following,  in  name  of  the  haill  kirk, 
hering  that  it  was  laitlie  cummen  to  thair  knawledge  bi  the  report 
of  faythfull  bretherins,  that  within  this  few  dayis  Eufame  Dundas, 
in  the  presence  of  ane  multitude,  had  spokin  divers  injurious  and 
sclandarous  wordis  baith  of  the  doctrine  and  ministeris.  And  in 
especiall  of  Jhonne  Knox,  minister,  sayand,  that  within  few  dayis 
past,  the  said  Jhonne  Knox  was  apprehendit  and  tane  furth  of  ane 
killogye  with  ane  commoun  hure ;  and  that  he  had  bene  ane 
commone  harlot  all  his  dayis.  Quhairfore  it  was  maist  humbhe 
desyrit  that  the  said  Eufame  myt  be  callit  and  examinit  upone  the 
said  supplicatione,  and  gif  the  wordis  above  written,  spoken  bi  hir, 
myt  be  knawin  or  tryit  to  be  of  veritie,  that  the  said  Jhonne  Knox 
myt  be  punist  with  all  rigour  without  favour  :  otherwyse  to  tak  sic 
ordour  with  hir  as  myt  stand  with  the  glory  of  God,  and  that 
sclander  myt  be  takin  from  the  kirk.  As  at  mair  length  is  contenit 
in  the  said  supplication.  Quhilk  beand  red  to  the  said  Eufame 
personallie  present  in  judgment,  scho  denyit  the  samyn  and  Fryday 
the  25th  day  of  Junii  instant  assignit  to  hir  to  here  and  see  witness 
producit  for  preving  of  the  allegiance  above  expremit,  and  scho  is 
warnit  apud  acta." 

The  only  further  notice  of  the  case  is  in  a  minute  of  the  25th 
June,  from  which  it  appears  that  Knox's  procurator  produced  proof 
that  the  woman  had  actually  uttered  the  words  as  reported.  As  she 
denied  the  charge,  however,  the  case  seems  to  have  been  dropped, 
and  no  more  is  heard  of  it.  It  was  partly  out  of  this  affair,  doubtless, 
that  the  Catholic  slanders  regarding  Knox  arose,  which  are  noticed 
below  (p.  311 ). 


APPENDIX  D  (vol.  ii.  p.  232) 

KNOX    AND    THE    RIZZIO    MURDER 

In  the  seventh  volume  of  his  History  of  Scotland'^  Fraser  Tytler 
has  directly  charged  Knox  with  complicity  in  the  Rizzio  murder. 
As  has  been  said  in  the  text,  the  death  of  Rizzio  was  for  Knox  a 
necessary  act  of  justice,  demanded  alike  by  the  laws  of  God  and 
man.  If  the  sovereign  would  not  put  her  hand  to  the  righteous 
deed,  it  was  in  perfect  accordance  with  Knox's  teaching  that  the 
subjects  who  stood  nearest  to  the  throne  should  take  the  re- 
sponsibility of  ridding  the  country  of  a  dangerous  enemy.^  Never- 
theless, it  is  intrinsically  improbable  that  Knox  would  ever  have 
consented  to  the  manner  in  which  the  deed  was  done. 

In  the  fifth  book  of  his  History  the  following  account  of  the 
murder  is  given:  "They  [the  conspirators]  first  purposed  to  have 
hanged  him  [Rizzio],  and  had  provided  cords  for  the  same  purpose ; 
but  the  great  haste  which  they  had,  moved  them  to  despatch  him 
with  whingers  or  daggers,  wherewith  they  gave  him  three  and 
fifty  strokes."^  Even  if  we  go  with  Tytler,  it  does  not  follow 
that  Knox  deliberately  approved  of  the  deed  described  in  the  latter 
half  of  this  sentence. 

The  main  proof  on  which  Tytler  bases  his  charge  against  Knox 
is  contained  in  a  document  which  he  found  in  the  State  Paper 
Office ;  and  in  support  of  what  he  considers  this  direct  proof  he 
adduces  certain  presumptions  which  appear  to  him  to  strengthen 
his  conclusion.  The  murder  of  Rizzio,  he  says,  was  in  keeping  with 
Knox's  principles,  and  was  fitted  to  advance  the  cause  he  had  at 
heart ;  it  was  natural  that  the  leading  conspirators,  most  of  whom 

1  Pp.  427-438- 

2  John  Major  held  similar  views.  Discussing,  in  his  Commentary 
on  Matthew,  the  slaughter  of  Eglon,  he  remarks  :  "It  is  for  the  chiefs 
of  the  State  to  consider  the  matter.  Eglon  was  a  public  enemy  of 
Israel  and  a  foreigner  who  disturbed  Israel,  and  Ehud  was  a  public 
person  at  the  head  of  the  State,  but  even  if  he  had  been  a  private  person 
it  would  have  been  lawful  for  him  to  remove  Eglon." 

3  Knox,   Works,  ii.  521.      Cf.  p.  231,  and  note  above. 


A  I' p.  D]  KNOX  AND  THE  RIZZIO  MURDER  305 


V 


were  Protestants,  should  take  him  into  their  confidence ;  on  Mary's 
approach  to  Edinburgh  from  Dunbar  "  he  [Knox]  fled  precipitately 
and  in  extreme  agony  of  spirit  to  Kyle,"  and  he  did  not  return  to 
Edinburgh  till  after  the  murder  of  Darnley.^ 

To  three  of  these  presumptions  no  importance  can  be  fairly 
attached.  It  is  more  natural  to  suppose  that  Knox  should  have 
been  deliberately  kept  ignorant  of  the  conspiracy  than  that  he 
should  have  been  made  privy  to  it.  From  its  very  nature  Knox 
could  have  been  of  no  practical  service  in  carrying  it  into  execution, 
and  it  was  mere  worldly  wisdom  that  the  chief  Protestant  minister 
should  be  above  suspicion  of  being  party  to  such  a  deed.  That 
Knox  fled  from  Edinburgh  in  "  extreme  agony  of  spirit "  is  both  a 
misleading  statement  and  a  rhetorical  turn  which  betrays  the 
forensic  character  of  Tytler's  reasoning.  It  is  true  that  Knox  fled 
from  Edinburgh  on  Mary's  approach,  but  there  was  ample  reason 
for  his  flight  apart  from  the  circumstances  of  Rizzio's  murder.  That 
Mary  had  so  long  abstained  from  laying  hands  on  him  was  due 
to  the  fact  that  he  had  hitherto  had  powerful  friends  at  his  back. 
On  her  return  to  Edinburgh,  however,  she  was  for  the  moment 
all-powerful,  and  not  even  Moray  was  in  a  position  to  ensure  his 
safety.^  For  Knox's  state  of  mind  during  his  flight  and  exile  the 
most  precise  authority  is  the  passage  in  the  preface  to  the  fourth 
book  of  his  History^  and  in  that  passage  there  is  certainly  no 
suggestion  that  conscious  guilt  was  the  cause  of  his  troubled 
thoughts.  In  one  sentence  he  has  told  us  the  root  of  that 
"agony  of  spirit"  which  Tytler  attributes  to  him.  "And  what 
is  the  cause  that  now  the  just  is  compelled  to  keap  silence  ?  good 
men  ar  banished,  murtheraris,  and  such  as  ar  knowin  unworthie 
of  the  commoun  societie  (yf  just  lawis  war  put  in  deu  executioun), 
bear  the  hoill  regiment  and  swynge  within  this  Reahiie  ?  "  ''^     It  is 

1  In  the  body  of  his  History  (vii.  26,  1I1  34)  Tytler  affirms  that 
the  General  Fast  and  the  directions  for  the  prayers  and  sermons  that 
should  accompany  it  were  specially  planned  and  prepared  in  view  of 
Rizzio's  murder,  which,  he  says,  the  Edinburgh  ministers  knew  to  be 
imminent.  The  truth  is  that  all  the  arrangements  for  the  Fast  were 
made  by  the  General  Assembly  in  the  December  of  the  previous  year. 
For  the  special  reasons  of  the  Fast  see  above,  p.  228. 

2  Cf.  pp.  229,  232  above. 

^  ii.  265.  When  Tytler  says  that  Knox  left  Edinburgh  in  "ex- 
treme agony  of  spirit,"  he  means  the  reader  to  infer  that  this  feeling 
arose  from  conscious  guilt  and  the  dread  of  punishment.  In  support 
of  this  implication  Tytler  refers  to  a  prayer  composed  by  Knox  on  the 
third  day  after  Rizzio's  murder.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  this  prayer  proves 
that  Knox  was  specially  well  pleased  with  himself  and  all  his  doings. — 
See  the  passage  quoted  above,  p.  276. 

^    Works,  ii.  265. 

VOL.   II  20 


3o6  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX  [app.  d 

a  further  error  to  say  that  Knox  did  not  return  to  Edinburgh  till 
after  the  murder  of  Darnley,  since  in  December  of  1566  he  was 
taking  an  active  part  in  the  General  Assembly  held  in  that  town.^ 
It  is  doubtless  true  that  it  was  in  keeping  with  Knox's  teaching 
that  the  chief  nobility  should  put  Rizzio  to  death  if  Mary  would 
not  otherwise  dispose  of  him ;  but  that  Knox  was  bound  to  approve 
the  deed  as  it  actually  happened,  is  an  implication  which  further 
proves  that  Tytler  unduly  strained  his  case. 

As  regards  the  incriminating  document  itself,  it  has  been  justly 
maintained'^  that  Tytler  assigns  to  it  an  importance  which  is 
justified  neither  by  its  contents  nor  by  its  authority.  The  document 
in  question  is  a  slip  of  paper  pinned  to  a  letter  of  Randolph  to 
Cecil,  relating  to  the  Rizzio  murder.  As  printed  by  Tytler,  the 
paper  appears  as  follows  : — 

Martii,  1565. 

Names  of  such  as  were  consenting  to  the  death  of  David.^ 

The  Earl  Morton  Lochleven 

The  L.  Ruthven  Elphinston 

The  L.  Lindsay  Patrick  Murray 

The  Secretary  Patrick  Ballantyne 

The  Mr.  of  Ruthven  George  Douglas 

Lairds  Andrew  Car  of  Fawdonsyde 

2™'"'°"  J°^  ?''°^  \  Preachers 

Brunston  John  Craig  j 

Haughton 

All  these  were  at  the  death  of  Davy  and  privy  thereunto,  and  are 
now  in  displeasure  with  the  Q.  and  their  houses  taken  and  spoiled. 

To  understand  the  precise  significance  of  this  list,  certain  facts 
have  to  be  borne  in  mind.  On  his  flight  from  Edinburgh,  Lord 
Ruthven,  one  of  the  Rizzio  murderers,  made  for  Berwick-on-Tweed, 
where  the  Earl  of  Bedford,  the  governor  of  the  town,  and  the  well- 
known  Randolph  were  at  that  time  resident.*  On  the  2ist^  of 
March  both  Bedford  and  Randolph  wrote  to  Cecil  in  reference  to 
the  late  doings  in  Edinburgh,  their  information  being  directly  gained 
from  Ruthven.  In  Bedford's  letter  the  only  passage  with  which  we 
are  concerned  is  as  follows  :   "  For  that  Mr.  Randolph  writeth  also 

1  See  above,  pp.  236-239. 

2  Specially  by  the  Rev.  Thomas  M'Crie  (son  of  the  biographer  of 
Knox)  in  his  Sketches  of  Scottish  Church  History  (1841),  Note  A, 
"  Mr.  Tytler's  Charge  against  John  Knox."  Cf.  also  Dr.  Crichton's 
edition  of  M'Crie's  K710X  (Belfast,  1874),  pp.  455  et  seq. 

3  According  to  Tytler,  this  endorsement  is  in  the  hand  of  Cecil's 
clerk. 

•1  Tytler,  vii.  428,  429.  ^  Ibid. 


I 


APP.  D]  KNOX  AND  THE  RIZZIO  MURDER  307 

more  at  large  of  the  names  of  such  as  now  be  gone  abroad  [that  is, 
of  those  who  had  fled  after  Rizzio's  murder],  I  shall  not  trouble  you 
therewith."     Turning  to  Randolph's  letter,  we  find  the  information 
to  which  Bedford  refers.      First  come  the  names  of  "  the  lords  of 
the  last  attemptate,"  which  exactly  correspond  to  those  in  the  list 
pinned  to  Randolph's  letter.      In  the  case  of  the  subordinate  con- 
spirators   there    is    a    slight    discrepancy   between    the   documents. 
While  Randolph  gives  only  eight,  the  pinned  list  gives  nine,  and 
two  names  appear  in  each  which  do  not  appear  in  the  other.     The 
most  significant  difference,  however,  is  that  the  pinned  hst  concludes 
with  the  names  of  Knox  and  his  colleague  Craig.     With  the  excep- 
tion of  these  discrepancies,  the  names  given  in  both  lists  are   the 
same.    The  question,  therefore,  is,  What  authority  should  be  attached 
to  the  list  pinned  to  Randolph's  letter  ?     According  to  Tytler,  the 
list  is  in  the  hand  of  a  clerk  who  was  at  that  time  in  the  employ- 
ment of  Bedford.      If  this  be  a  fact,  and  as  such  we  may  accept  it, 
it  is  evident  that  it  at  once  stamps  the  document  with  a  certain 
claim  to  consideration.     Yet  this  being  granted,  there  are  difficulties 
connected  with  its  contents  which  deprive  it  of  definitive  authority. 
If  the  list  were  really  sent  as  a  supplement  to  that  of  Randolph,  we 
should  naturally  expect  it  to  be  a  document  at  once  exact  and  com- 
plete.     In  point  of  fact,  it  is  less  precise  than  the  communication 
made    by    Randolph.       Speaking    of  the    nobility    who    conspired 
against  Rizzio,  Randolph  calls  them  "  the  lords  of  the  last  attempt- 
ate  " ;   and  he  introduces   the  minor  agents  in   the  plot  with   the 
phrase,  "  Besides  these  that  were  the  principal  takers  in  hand  of 
this  matter."     In  these  expressions  we  have  the  words  of  one  who 
has  a  definite  meaning  in  his  mind.     To  the  pinned  list,   on   the 
other  hand,  we  have  a  confused  and  blundering  note,  which  seems 
to  prove  that  its  author  had  no  clear  notion  of  what  he  was  writing. 
"All  these  were  at  the  death  of  Davy  and  privy  thereunto,  and 
are  now  in  displeasure  with  the  Q.   and  their  houses  taken  and 
spoiled."     On  this  note  Tytler  comments  as  follows  :   "It  is  certain 
that  this  cannot  mean  that  all  whose  names  are  to  be  found  in  this 
list  were  personally  present  at  the  act  of  the  murder ;  it  should  be 
understood  to  mean  that  '  all  those  were  at  the  murder  of  Davy  <?/- 
privy  thereto.' "     A  more  natural  commentary  on  the  note  is  that  its 
author,  whoever  he  was,  wrote  in  a  loose  way  of  facts  which  he  had 
imperfectly  ascertained.     What  proves  his  ignorance,  indeed,  is  that 
Craig  did  not  leave  Edinburgh,  and  that  there  is  no  evidence  that 
either  the  house  of  Craig  or  Knox  was   "taken  and  spoiled."     On 
the  strength  of  such  a  document,  and  it  is  the  only  direct  evidence 
that  has   yet   been   adduced,   it   seems  hardly  historical  justice  to 
make  a  charge  so  definite  as  Tytler  has  seen  fit  to  make  against 
Knox. 

In  support  of  Knox's  innocence  Tytler  quotes  two  authorities, 


3o8  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX  [app.  d 

both  of  which,  however,  he  sets  aside  in  favour  of  the  pinned  Ust. 
Besides  his  letter  referred  to  above,  Randolph  sent  another  com- 
munication on  the  same  subject,  dated  the  27th  of  March.     This 
second  communication  bears  the  following  title  :   "  The  names  of 
such  as   were  doers,  and   of  council,  in  the  late  attempt   for  the 
killing  of  the  secretary  David  at  Edinburgh,  9th  March   1566,  as 
contained  in  the  account  sent  to  the  Council  of  England,  by  the 
Earl  of  Bedford,  Lieutenant  of  the  North,  and  Sir  Thomas  Ran- 
dolph,  ambassador  from  England  to  Scotland  at  the  time  dated 
Berwick,   27th  March   1566."^     In  this  second  list  the  names  of 
neither  Knox  nor  Craig  appear,  but  for  two  reasons  Tytler  will  not 
allow  the  same  authority  to  this  list  as  to  the  pinned  one.     In  the 
first  place,  as  written  to  the  Council  and  not  directly  to  Cecil,  it  has 
less  claim  to  be  considered  an  honest  statement  of  facts.     To  this 
objection  it  seems  a  sufficient  reply  that  in  Randolph's  first  letter, 
which  was  specially  addressed  to  Cecil,  the  names  of  Knox  and 
Craig  do  not  appear,  and  that  it  remains  to  be  proved  that  Ran- 
dolph was  the  author  of  the  pinned  list.     Tytler's  second  objection 
is  based  on  a  supposition  which  may  be  easily  turned  against  him- 
self.    The  conspirators,  he  says,  had  failed,  and  Mary  had  escaped 
their  hands.     Baffled  in  their  enterprise,  it  was  the  interest  of  the 
fugitive  lords,  and  of  Bedford  and  Randolph  who  abetted  them, 
to  keep  the  world   ignorant  that  any  Protestant  minister  had  his 
hand   in   such  an   ugly  business.     The   second  communication  of 
Randolph   and   Bedford,    therefore,  was   deliberately   concocted  to 
serve  this  purpose ;  and  to  prove  that  the  fugitive  lords  were  in- 
terested in  this  artifice,  Tytler  quotes  the  following  passage  from  a 
letter  addressed  to  Bedford  by  Ruthven  and  Morton  :  "  It  is  come 
to   our  knowledge  that  some  Papists  have  bruited  that  these  our 
proceedings  have  been  at  the  instigation  of  the  ministers  of  Scot- 
land.    We  assure  your  lordship,  upon  our  honour,  that  there  were 
none  of  them  art  nor  part  of  that  deed,  nor  were  participate  thereof" 
The  obvious  criticism  on  this  part  of  Tytler's  argument  is  that  it 
bears  the  character  of  legal  pleading  rather  than  of  historical  reason- 
ing.    Whether  they  won  or  not,  it  was  surely  the  policy  of  Rizzio's 
murderers  to  conceal  the  fact  that  their  ministers  had  the  most  dis- 
tant connection  with  a  deed  that  must  have  discredited  the  whole 
Reformed  Church.      If  there  be  one  point  in  the  argument  to  which 
serious  weight  should  be  attached,  it  is  the  affirmation  of  Ruthven 
and  Morton  that  the  ministers  were  neither  "art  nor  part"  in  the 
deed.     Whatever  might  be  the  event  of  Rizzio's  removal,  it  was  the 
interest  of  the  Protestant  leaders  that  their  ministers,  whose  influ- 
ence on  public  opinion  was  their  chief  hope  for  the  future,  should 

^  This   letter  is   printed  by  Ellis,   Original  Letters,   ii.    207.      The 
number  of  conspirators  given  in  this  letter  is  thirty-one. 


APP.  D]  KNOX  AND  THE  RIZZIO  MURDER  309 

have  their  hands  clean  in  proclaiming  to  the  world  the  righteousness 
of  their  cause.^  Yet,  with  a  perverse  subtlety,  Tytler  discredits  the 
express  averment  of  Ruthven  and  Morton.  Both  of  these  nobles, 
as  we  have  seen,  pledge  their  words  for  the  truth  of  their  statement, 
yet  so  eager  is  Tytler  to  make  good  his  case  that  he  puts  Ruthven 
aside,  and  deals  with  the  statement  as  if  Morton  alone  were  its 
sponsor.  Fourteen  years  later,  on  the  eve  of  his  execution,  Morton 
made  a  distinction  which,  according  to  Tytler,  puts  him  out  of  court 
in  the  case  before  us.  Accused  of  being  concerned  in  the  Darnley 
murder,  Morton  made  use  of  these  words  among  others:  "And 
howbeit  they  have  condemned  me  of  art  and  part,  foreknowledge 
and  concealing  of  the  king's  murder,  yet,  as  I  shall  answer  to  God, 
I  never  had  yet  art  or  part,  red  or  counsel,  in  that  matter.  I  fore- 
knew, indeed,  and  concealed  it,  because  I  durst  not  reveal  it  to  any 
creature  for  my  life."  On  this  passage  Tytler  comments  as  follows  : 
"  It  is  perfectly  clear,  therefore,  that  Morton's  declaration  that  none 
of  the  ministers  of  Scotland  were  art  and  part  of  Riccio's  murder, 
does  not  necessarily  imply  any  declaration  that  Knox  had  not  a 
foreknowledge  of  the  murder ;  on  the  contrary,  it  is  quite  consistent 
with  his  having  known  it,  and,  according  to  the  term  used  by  one  of 
his  brethren  to  James,  allowed  of  it."  The  only  answer  to  such 
reasoning  is  that,  by  its  ingenuity  and  perversity,  it  is  conceived  in 
the  spirit  of  an  advocate  and  not  of  a  historian.  For  the  most  part  a 
just  and  careful  writer,  the  discovery  of  his  interesting  list  'seems  to 
have  warped  Tytler's  mind  by  a  temporary  exuberance  of  feeling. 

There  is  still  another  list,  however, — one  to  which  Tytler  does 
not  refer,  but  which  is  of  higher  authority  than  any  of  those  which 
he  has  produced.  The  day  after  Mary's  return  to  Edinburgh  from 
Dunbar,  she  held  a  meeting  of  her  Privy  Council,-  which  took  up 
the  affair  of  Rizzio's  murder.     As  the  result  of  its  meeting,  there 

1  A  parallel  case  may  be  found  in  the  plan  for  assassinating  Elizabeth 
projected  by  the  leaders  of  the  Catholic  party  in  1583.  Thus  on  2nd 
May,  the  papal  nuncio  wrote  from  Paris  to  the  Cardinal  of  Como  : — 
"The  Duke  of  Guise  and  the  Duke  of  Mayenne  have  told  me  that  they 
have  a  plan  for  killing  the  Queen  of  England  by  the  hand  of  a  Catholic. 
.  .  .  The  Duke  asks  for  no  assistance  from  our  Lord  [the  Pope]  for  this 
affair.  ...  As  to  putting  to  death  that  wicked  woman  I  said  to  him 
that  I  will  not  write  about  it  to  our  Lord  the  Pope  (nor  do  I),  nor  tell 
your  most  illustrious  Lordship  to  inform  him  of  it ;  because  though  I 
believe  our  Lord  the  Pope  would  be  glad  that  God  should  punish  in  any 
way  whatever  that  enemy  of  His,  still  it  would  be  unfitting  that  His 
vicar  should  procure  it  by  these  means." — Eetters  afid  Memorials  of 
Card.  Allefi,  p.  xlvi. 

2  Keith,  iii.  279-281.  In  Keith  the  loth  of  March  is  erroneously 
given  as  the  date  of  its  meeting.  It  should  probably  be  the  19th,  the 
day  after  Mary's  return  to  Edinburgh, 


3IO  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX  [app.  d] 

was  issued  a  "  Charge  on  the  Persons  delatit  of  the  Slaughter  of  David 
Riccio,"  in  which  appear  the  names  of  seventy-one  lords,  barons, 
knights,  and  servants.  In  this  long  and  minute  list  the  names  neither 
of  Knox  nor  of  Craig  appear,  yet  if  Knox  could  have  been  pointed 
at,  this  was  the  moment  for  Mary  to  have  her  revenge  on  her  ancient 
adversary.  She  was  furious  and  triumphant,  and  Knox  had  not  a 
friend  strong  enough  to  raise  an  effective  hand  in  his  defence.  That 
he  is  not  mentioned  in  this  specific  charge  against  those  even 
remotely  responsible  for  the  death  of  her  favourite,  is  strong  evi- 
dence that  there  existed  no  ground  for  his  incrimination.^ 

To  sum  up  the  foregoing  discussion  :  valid  evidence  there  is 
none  that  Knox  had  any  knowledge  of  a  plot  to  assassinate  Rizzio, 
or  that  he  approved  of  the  deed  as  it  was  actually  carried  out. 
But  apart  from  the  question  of  detailed  evidence  is  the  larger 
historical  question  of  Knox's  attitude  towards  the  general  spirit 
of  the  Rizzio  conspiracy.  The  aim  of  Morton  and  his  associates 
was  to  remove  Rizzio  in  some  such  fashion  as  Cochrane  had  been 
removed  in  the  preceding  century,  and  thus  to  restore  the  Protestant 
ascendency  in  the  country.  Of  both  of  these  acts  Knox,  beyond  a 
doubt,  would  energetically  have  approved.  That  he  had  any  col- 
lusion whatever  in  the  actual  execution  of  the  first  is  not  proved 
by  any  evidence  that  is  yet  to  hand. 

1  After  the  baptism  of  her  son,  Mary  issued  a  pardon  for  such  as 
had  had  any  hand  in  Rizzio's  murder,  George  Douglas  and  Ker  of 
Fawdonside  being  expressly  excluded.  In  this  list  seventy-nine  persons 
are  mentioned,  but  the  names  of  Knox  and  Craig  are  not  among 
them. 


\ 


APPENDIX   E  (vol.  ii.  p.  274) 


CATHOLIC    LEGENDS    REGARDING    KNOX 

No  notice  has  been  taken  in  the  text  of  the  extraordinary  legends  cir- 
culated respecting  Knox  by  his  Catholic  adversaries.  As  a  curious 
page  from  the  sixteenth  century,  however,  a  few  of  these  may  be 
quoted  here.  In  truth,  our  notions  of  that  century  are  incomplete 
till  we  realise  that  men  of  position  and  education  could  write  in  the 
strain  of  the  passages  that  follow.  In  our  estimate  of  men  like  Knox 
it  should  not  be  forgotten  that  it  was  in  an  atmosphere  such  as  these 
performances  so  vividly  suggest  that  they  lived  and  did  their  work. 
In  much  of  his  own  six  volumes  Knox  transgresses  what  we  now 
consider  the  limits  of  fairness  and  good  taste  towards  opponents. 
Compared  with  his  revilers,  however,  he  appears  as  a  delicate  and 
impartial  controversialist. 

To  attempt  any  refutation  of  these  calumnies  would,  of  course,  be 
absurd.  Essentially,  indeed,  they  belong  rather  to  folklore  than  to 
documentary  history.  In  the  case  of  all  the  great  leaders  of  the 
Protestant  movement — Luther,  Calvin,  Buchanan,  Knox,  and  others 
— the  same  stories  are  told  of  monstrous  offences  against  all  the  laws 
of  God  and  man.  That  Knox  had  once  been  a  priest,  that  he 
proved  one  of  the  most  formidable  enemies  of  the  religion  he  left, 
that  he  married  twice,  and  that  women  flocked  to  him  as  a  spiritual 
teacher  and  consoler — in  these  facts,  and  possibly  the  story  referred 
to  in  a  preceding  page,^  we  have  doubtless  the  origin  of  the 
mountain  of  iniquity  that  was  laid  at  his  door.  Of  the  three 
traducers,  who  supplied  the  materials  for  succeeding  imitators,  it  is 
sufficient  to  say  that  one  of  them,  Archibald  Hamilton,  had  once 
been  a  Protestant,  and  was  the  personal  enemy  of  Knox ;  and  that 
the  other  two,  Nicol  Burne  and  James  Laing,  were  Knox's  fellow- 
countrymen,  and  detested  him  as  the  apostate  priest  who  had 
done  more  than  any  other  man  to  ruin  their  Church  and  bring 
low  their  Queen.  On  the  whole  question  of  Knox  and  his 
maligners    the    last   word    was    long    ago    said    by   Bayle :    "  C'est 

^  Appendix  C. 


312  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX  [app.  e 


rendre  sans  doute  quelque  service  a  la  memoire  de  Jean  Knox, 
que  de  faire  voir  les  extravagances  de  ceux  qui  ont  dechire  sa 
reputation." 

It  has  been  related  above  how  Hamilton  quarrelled  with  Knox 
at  St.  Andrews,^  and  how  he  afterwards  took  his  revenge  on  his 
great  adversary.  As  a  specimen  of  Hamilton's  manner  we  take  this 
passage  from  his  De  Confiisione  Calvinia7iae  Seefae,  in  which  he 
describes  the  circumstances  of  Knox's  death :  ^  "  The  opening  of 
his  mouth  was  drawn  out  to  such  a  length  of  deformity,  that  his  face 
resembled  that  of  a  dog,  as  his  voice  also  did  the  barking  of  that 
animal.  The  voice  failed  from  that  tongue  which  had  been  the 
cause  of  so  much  mischief,  and  his  death,  most  grateful  to  his 
country,  soon  followed.  In  his  last  sickness,  he  was  occupied  not 
so  much  in  meditating  upon  death,  as  in  thinking  upon  civil  and 
worldly  affairs.  When  a  number  of  his  friends,  who  held  him  in  the 
greatest  veneration,  were  assembled  in  his  chamber,  and  anxious  to 
hear  from  him  something  tending  to  the  confirmation  of  his  former 
doctrine,  and  to  their  comfort,  he  perceiving  that  his  death  approached, 
and  that  he  could  gain  no  more  advantage  by  the  pretext  of  religion, 
disclosed  to  them  the  mysteries  of  that  Savoyan  art  {Sabaudicae 
disciplinae,  magic)  which  he  had  hitherto  kept  secret ;  confessed 
the  injustice  of  that  authority  which  was  then  defended  by  arms 
against  the  exiled  Queen  ;  and  declared  many  things  concerning  her 
return  and  the  restoration  of  religion  after  his  death.  One  of  the 
company,  who  had  taken  the  pen  to  record  his  dying  sayings,  thinking 
that  he  was  in  a  delirium,  desisted  from  writing,  upon  which  Knox, 
with  a  stern  countenance  and  great  asperity  of  language,  began  to 
upbraid  him  !  '  Thou  good-for-nothing  man  !  why  dost  thou  leave  off 
writing  what  my  presaging  mind  foresees  is  about  to  happen  in  this 
kingdom  ?  Dost  thou  distrust  me  ?  Dost  thou  not  believe  that  all 
which  I  say  shall  most  certainly  happen  ?  But  that  I  may  attest  to 
thee  and  others  how  undoubted  the  things  which  I  have  just  spoken 
are,  go  out  all  of  you  from  me,  and  I  will  in  a  moment  confirm  them 
by  a  new  and  unheard-of  proof.'  They  withdrew  at  length,  though 
reluctantly,  leaving  only  the  lighted  candles  in  the  chamber,  and 
soon  returned,  expecting  to  witness  some  prodigy,  when  they  found 
the  lights  extinguished,  and  his  dead  body  lying  prostrate  on  the 
ground."  ^ 

From  Hamilton's  reply  to  Smeton  ^  we  take  another  passage, 
which  is  better  left  in  the  original :   "  Pueritiam  prematura  venere 

1  See  above,  pp.  273,  274. 

2  The  translation  is  that  of  Dr.  M'Crie. — Life  of  John  Knox  (1855), 
p.  405. 

3  De  Confusione  Calvin.  Sectac  apiid  Scotos,  p.  66. 
*  See  above,  p.  285,  note. 


APP.  E]        CATHOLIC  LEGENDS  REGARDING  KNOX  313 

et  pollute  insuper  patris  thoro  infamem  notavi.  Inde  adolescentiam 
perpetuis  assuetam  adulteriis  designavi."  And  again  :  "  Itane  vero 
in  maledictis  ducitis,  quae  impurus  homuncio  non  uno  aut  paucis,  sed 
multis,  et  fere  dicam  omnibus  attestantibus,  designavit — patris  thorum 
infami  incestu  pollutum,  et  tot  commissa  adulteria,  quot  in  aedibus, 
intra  quas  admittebatur  ?  Relicta  vestigia  etiamnum  recitant  Laud- 
onienses  omnes,  juxta  et  ignobiles."  ^ 

From  James  Laing,  a  doctor  of  the  Sorbonne,  in  a  book  published 
in  1 581,  we  have  something  to  the  same  effect  as  these  passages 
from  Hamilton.  "Statim,"  he  says,  "ab  initio  suae  pueritiae  omni 
genere  turpissimi  facinoris  infectus  fuit.  Vix  excesserat  jam  ex 
ephebis,  cum  patris  sui  uxorem  violarat,  suam  novercam  vitiarat,  et 
cum  ea,  cui  reverentia  potissimum  adhibenda  fuerat,  nefarium 
stuprum  fecerat."  And  again  :  "  Continuo  cum  tribus  meretricibus, 
quae  videbantur  posse  sufficere  uni  sacerdoti,  in  Scotia  convolat.  .  .  . 
Ceterum  hie  lascivus  caper,  quem  assidue  sequebatur  lasciva  capella, 
partim  perpetuis  crapulis,  partim  vino,  lustrisque  ita  confectus  fuit, 
ut  quotiescunq.  conscenderet  suggestum  ad  maledicendum,  velim 
precandum  suis,  opus  erat  illi  duobus  aut  tribus  viris,  a  quibus 
elevandus  atq.  sustentandus  erat."  ^ 

The  following  lively  passage  referring  to  Knox's  second  marriage 
has  often  been  quoted  from  Nicol  Burne  :  ^  "  Heaving  laid  asyd  al 
feir  of  the  panis  of  hel,  and  regarding  na  thing  the  honestie  of  the 
warld,  as  ane  bund  sklave  of  the  Devil,  being  kendillit  with  ane  in- 
quenshible  lust  and  ambition,  he  durst  be  sua  bauld  to  enterpryse 
the  sute  of  Marriage  with  the  maist  honorabil  ladie,  my  ladie  Fleming, 
my  lord  duke's  eldest  dochter,  to  the  end  that  his  seid,  being  of  the 
blude  Royal,  and  gydit  be  their  fatheris  spirit,  might  have  aspyrit  to 
the  croun.  And  because  he  receavit  ane  refusal,  it  is  notoriouslie 
knawin  how  deadlie  he  haited  the  hail  house  of  the  Hamiltonis, 
albeit  being  deceavit  be  him  traittorouslie  it  was  the  cheif  upsetter 
and  protector  of  his  h^eresie.  And  this  maist  honest  refusal  would 
nather  stench  his  lust  nor  ambition ;  bot  a  lytil  eftir  he  did  perseu 
to  have  allyance  with  the  honorabil  house  of  Ochiltrie  of  the  Kingis 
M.  awin  blude ;  Rydand  thair  with  ane  gret  court,  on  ane  trim 
gelding,  nocht  lyke  ane  prophet  or  ane  auld  decrepit  preist,  as  he 
was,  bot  lyk  as  he  had  bene  ane  of  the  blude  Royal,  with  his  bendis 
of  taffetie  feschnit  with  Goldin  ringis,  and  precious  stanes  :  And  as 

1   Calvinianae  Co7ifusio?tis  Dcmotistratio,  etc.  (Paris,  1581),  p.  253. 

-  De  Vita  et  Moribus  atque  Rebus  Gestis  Hacreticoruni  nostri  tem- 
poris^  etc.  p.  113  et  seq.  In  his  last  days,  it  will  be  remembered,  Knox 
was  actually  helped  into  the  pulpit  by  Richard  Bannatyne  and  another 
servant.      See  above,  pp.  267,  268. 

3  Disputation  concerning  the  Cojttroversit  Headdis  of  Religion,  etc., 
pp.  143,  144. 


314  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX  [app.  e] 

is  planelie  reportit  in  the  contrey,  be  sorcerie  and  witchcraft  did 
sua  allure  that  puir  gentil  woman,  that  scho  could  not  leve  without 
him ;  whilk  appeiris  of  great  probabilitie,  scho  being  ane  Damosel 
of  nobil  blud,  and  he  ane  auld  decrepit  creatur  of  maist  bais  degrie 
of  onie  that  could  be  found  in  the  cuntrey  :  Sua  that  sik  ane  nobil 
hous  could  not  have  degenerat  sua  far,  except  Johann  kmnox  had 
interposed  the  powar  of  his  maister  the  Devil,  quha  as  he  trans- 
figuris  him  self  sumtymes  in  ane  Angel  of  licht ;  sua  he  causit 
Johanne  kmnox  appeir  ane  of  the  maist  nobil  and  lustie  men  that 
could  be  found  in  the  warld." 


APPENDIX    F  (vol.  ii.  p.  285) 

KNOX'S    PLACES    OF    RESIDENCE    IN    EDINBURGH 

According  to  the  information  we  possess,  it  was  in  the  autumn 
of  1555  that  Knox  first  made  a  temporary  residence  in  Edinburgh. 
Doubtless  at  an  earlier  period  he  must  more  than  once  have  visited 
the  capital,  lying  as  it  does  only  some  sixteen  miles  from  his  home  ; 
but  to  such  visits  no  reference  has  been  discovered.  During  his 
sojourn  in  Scotland  in  1555-1556  he  made  his  quarters  in  Edinburgh 
chiefly  at  the  beginning  and  end  of  his  stay.  In  connection  with 
these  visits  only  one  house  is  specified  as  his  temporary  home — that 
of  James  Syme,  a  citizen  burgess  of  Edinburgh.^  Where  this  house 
stood  has  not  been  ascertained.  Immediately  before  his  return  to 
Geneva  it  is  further  mentioned  that  he  preached  during  ten 
successive  days  in  the  "  great  lodging  "  of  the  Bishop  of  Dunkeld,^ 
the  site  of  which  also  has  not  been  determined. 

On  his  final  return  to  Scotland  in  May  1559,  Knox  spent  two 
nights  in  Edinburgh  (where  he  does  not  specify)  before  proceeding 
to  Dundee  and  Perth.^  During  the  succeeding  year  he  paid  flying 
visits  to  the  capital;  but  it  was  not  till  April  of  1560  that  he 
definitely  made  it  his  home."^  Thenceforward,  till  his  death  in  1572, 
it  is  Edinburgh  that  is  the  chief  scene  of  his  labours,  though  duty 
or  the  pressure  of  circumstances  often  drove  him  elsewhere  for  longer 
or  shorter  periods.  What  is  noteworthy  regarding  Knox's  house- 
keeping is  his  constant  change  of  residence  during  these  twelve  years. 
It  would  seem,  indeed,  that  he  never  possessed  a  home  that  could 
really  be  called  his  own.  From  the  entries  in  the  Town  Council 
Records  referring  to  his  domestic  arrangements  we  may  infer  that  a 
furnished  house  was  provided  for  him,  and  that  his  own  possessions 
consisted  chiefly  of  his  books.^     From  the  same  source  we  gather 

1    Works,  i.  246.  2  /^/^  p.  251.  2  Ibid.  p.  318. 

^  Records  of  the  Burgh  of  Edinburgh,  8th  May  1560. 

^  In  his  last  Will  and  Testament  Knox's  books,  "  alsweill  upoune  the 
Scriptures  as  uther  prophane  authoris,"  are  valued  at  ^^130  Scots; 
while  "  in  utensile  and  domicile  the  airschip  being  deducit,"  his  effects 


3i6  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX  [app.  f 

that  his  rent  was  not  regularly  paid/  and  that  more  than  once  there 
was  some  difficulty  in  raising  his  stipend." 

On  his  coming  to  Edinburgh  in  April  1560,  Knox  occupied  for 
fifteen  days  the  house  of  David  Forrest — possibly  the  same  person 
who  entertained  John  Willock  in  Haddington,  twice  held  the  office 
of  General  of  the  Mint,  and  was  an  ardent  supporter  of  the  Reformed 
Church.^  For  the  next  few  months  Knox  has  a  new  landlord,  John 
Cairns,  whose  name  occurs  twice  in  the  Records  as  the  recipient  of 
the  minister's  rent.  The  site  of  neither  of  these  houses  has  been 
ascertained. 

In  an  entry  for  4th  September  1560  we  read  of  another  arrange- 
ment for  Knox's  accommodation.  A  tailor,  named  John  Durie,  has 
been  removed  from  "  the  ludgeing  occupy  it  be  the  Abbot  of  Drum- 
fermeling  "  to  give  place  to  the  minister.*  The  Council,  it  would 
appear,  had  a  sense  that  they  had  acted  with  a  high  hand,  as,  after 
ordering  that  Durie  should  receive  full  indemnity,  they  undertake 
that  he  will  be  restored  "  how  sone  thai  may  provide  the  said  minister 
ane  uther  ludgeing."  Such  a  lodging,  however,  does  not  seem  to 
have  been  readily  obtainable,  since  for  the  next  four  years  Knox 
continued  to  reside  in  Durie's  house — a  longer  space  than  he  remained 
in  any  one  home  from  the  day  when  he  broke  with  the  ancient 
Church.  This  new  house  had  for  its  owner  one  Robert  Mowbray, 
and  stood  on  the  north  side  of  the  High  Street,  on  the  west  side  of 
Trunk  Close,^  well  down  towards  the  Nor'  Loch.*^  As  described  in 
a  contemporary  document,  it  was  a  "great  mansion  and  building,  with 
a  garden  and  waste  land  "  attached,''  and  was  therefore  a  residence 
of  some  pretensions.  Here  with  his  household,  consisting  of  his 
wife,  mother-in-law,  and  two  children,  Knox  passed  the  eventful  years 
during  which  he  strove  with  Moray  and  Maitland  in  their  policy  of 

are  said  to  be  worth  only  ^30.  In  this  connection  it  may  be  men- 
tioned that  a  few  weeks  before  his  death  Rizzio  received  from  Mary 
and  Darnley  ;i^2oo,  "for  the  reparatiounis  of  his  chalmer." 

^  Burgh  Records,  25th  September  1566. 

2  T.  C.  Records,  iith  June  1563  ;   24tli  April,   1564. 

^  D.  Laing  gives  an  account  of  Forrest  or  Forrester. — Knox,  Works, 
i.  563,  note.  The  Forrest  meant,  however,  may  be  a  bailie  of  that  name 
who  acceded  to  his  office  in  1561. 

*  T.  C.  Records,  4th  September  1560. 

^  Also  known  as  Turing's,  Old  Provost's,  and  Knox's  Close. 

^  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Ajttiquaries  of  Scotland,  xxv.  144- 
146.  Article  by  Mr.  Peter  Miller,  F.S.A.  A  reply  to  Mr.  Miller's  paper 
by  Mr.  C.  J.  Guthrie,  advocate,  will  be  found  in  the  same  volume. 

"^  This  description  is  from  a  Sasine  of  date  8th  April  1563.  Mow- 
bray's house  is  there  referred  to  in  these  words :  "  Magnam  suam 
mansionem  et  edificium  una  cum  horto  et  cauda  ejusdem  nunc  inhabitatam 
per  Joannem  Knox  ministrum." — Ibid.  p.  144  note. 


APP.  F]  RESWEA'CES  IN  EDINBURGH  317 

concession  to  the  Queen  ;  here  in  November  of  1562  he  entertained 
Chatelherault  and  Randolph  to  supper  on  Sunday  evening  after 
sermon  ;  and  hence  he  made  his  way  down  the  Canongate  to  his 
memorable  interviews  with  Mary. 

In  1565  Knox  has  once  again  changed  his  residence,  and  is  being 
dunned  for  rent  in  his  new  tenancy.  Through  one  John  Davidson, 
a  writer,  he  informs  the  Town  Council  that  he  "wes  craififit,  at  the 
leist  sutit,  for  his  Mertymes  termes  maill,  in  the  yeir  of  God  j"  v° 
and  Ixv  be  Robert  Scottis  spous."  ^  The  date  of  this  entry  is  25th 
September  1566,  and  seems  to  prove  that  Knox  must  have  crossed 
from  St.  Andrews  to  Edinburgh  during  that  month.''  In  what  house 
he  and  his  family  were  then  living  no  entry  informs  us.  For  him- 
self, during  the  whole  of  1566,  he  was  more  out  of  Edinburgh  than 
in  it.  In  the  first  months  of  that  year  he  had  gone  on  a  preaching 
tour  by  the  express  order  of  the  General  Assembly,  and  after  the 
murder  of  Rizzio  he  was  again  absent  till  September.  At  the  end 
of  1566  or  the  beginning  of  1567  he  set  out  on  his  journey  to 
England,  and  did  not  return  till  June  of  that  year.^  From  this  date, 
with  brief  intervals,  he  remained  in  Edinburgh  till  May  157 1.  For 
the  whole  of  this  period  only  two  notices  indicate  his  places  of 
residence."^  In  both  entries  John  Adamson  is  mentioned  as  his 
landlord,  and  in  both  it  is  implied  that  he  was  at  odds  with  his 
tenant  regarding  necessary  repairs.  From  contemporary  documents 
we  gather  that  Adamson's  house  was  near  the  foot  and  on  the  east 
side  of  Trunk  Close  ^ — in  the  same  quarter,  therefore,  as  Knox's 
previous  home  in  the  house  of  Robert  Mowbray. 

The  last  entry  referring  to  Knox's  places  of  residence  in  Edin- 
burgh is  dated  4th  March  1569.'^  Where  did  he  live  during  those 
two  years  and  eight  months  that  yet  remained  to  him  ?  It  is  here 
that  we  find  a  place  for  the  tradition  that  points  to  the  tenement  at 
the  Netherbow,  now  known  as  Knox's  house,  and  exhibited  to  the 
world  as  such.  In  Knox's  day  the  proprietor  of  this  house  was  one 
James  Mosman,  a  goldsmith  and  burgess  of  Edinburgh.  Whether 
Mosman  occupied  the  house  or  not,  there  is  no  authority  to  show ; 
but  from  his  own  character  and  antecedents  there  is  a  strong  pre- 
sumption that  for  a  certain  period  Mosman's  house  may  have  been 
open  to  receive  a  tenant  before  Knox's  death  in  November  1572. 
By    family   tradition,    as    apparently    by    conviction,    Mosman    was 


1  T.  C.  Records,  25th  September  1566. 

2  See  above,  pp.  236,  237.  3  See  above,  p.  239. 

■*  19th  November  1568  ;  4th  March  1569.  There  is  a  third  indirect 
reference  for  20th  February  1568. 

^  Proc.  of  Soc.  of  A)itiq.  of  Scot,  xxvii.  409. 

^  No  records  of  the  Council  exist  between  ist  May  1571  and  13th 
November  1573. 


3i8  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX  [app.  f 

attached  to  Mary  and  the  old  rehgion.  His  father  had  made  the 
crown  which  was  placed  on  the  head  of  Mary  of  Lorraine ;  ^  and  he 
himself  in  February  1570  married  as  his  second  wife  the  daughter 
of  Alexander  King,  "  a  malicious  papist."  ^  But  this  was  the  month 
following  the  murder  of  the  Regent  Moray,  and  when  we  remember 
the  state  of  Edinburgh  in  the  times  that  followed,^  the  presumption 
is  that  Mosman  must  have  found  it  prudent  to  take  refuge  with 
Grange  in  the  Castle.  In  the  town  itself,  it  is  to  be  remembered, 
the  majority  of  the  well-to-do  citizens  were  strongly  opposed  to  Mary  ; 
and  Mosman  must  in  many  ways  have  been  made  to  feel  that  he 
was  a  traitor  and  a  vile  papist  in  their  midst.  Sooner  or  later  he 
did  enter  the  Castle,  for,  when  in  1573  it  fell  into  the  hands  of 
Morton,  he  was  one  of  those  considered  sufficiently  important  to 
suffer  public  execution  along  with  Kirkcaldy  of  Grange.'* 

Between  March  1569  and  November  1572,  therefore,  the  prob- 
ability is  that  Mosman's  house  was  open  to  receive  Knox.  On  his 
return  from  St.  Andrews  in  August  1572  it  may  well  have  been  that 
this  house  was  assigned  to  him  as  probably  the  last  it  must  be  his 
lot  to  occupy.  Morton,  though  not  yet  Regent,  was  supreme  in  the 
town,  and  Knox's  friends  would  naturally  do  their  bgst  to  make  the 
closing  days  of  their  minister  as  comfortable  as  lay  in  their  power. 
From  the  state  of  health  in  which  he  now  came  among  them,  it  could 
at  the  most  be  only  a  few  months  that  they  would  profit  by  his 
counsels.  In  Mosman's  house,  apparently  one  of  the  most  com- 
modious residences  in  the  town,  he  would  have  the  comfort  that  his 
age  and  health  demanded ;  and  it  was,  moreover,  within  easy  dis- 
tance of  the  church  where  he  ministered.  As  for  the  removal  of  any 
goods  that  belonged  to  him,  a  few  books,  as  has  been  said,  probably 
made  the  bulk  of  his  possessions. 

To  Mosman's  house,  at  all  events,  tradition  points  as  the  resi- 
dence of  Knox ;  and  if  we  attach  any  weight  to  the  tradition,  that 
house  would  in  all  probability  be  the  one  in  which  his  last  days 
were  spent.  Considering  at  once  the  prominent  position  of  the  house 
itself,  and  the  unparalleled  place  which  Knox  has  ever  held  in  the 
minds  of  his  countrymen,  the  wonder  would  certainly  be  that  tradi- 
tion should  either  be  silent  or  should  by  any  chance  have  gone  astray. 
The  circumstances  under  which  Knox's  last  days  were  spent  were 
in  themselves  fitted  to  associate  his  name  inseparably  with  the  house 
where  he  died.  To  this  house,  wherever  it  was,  his  congregation 
attended  him  after  his  last  public  appearance  at  the  induction  of  his 
successor  Lawson  ;  here,  as  he  lay  dying,  were  daily  seen  coming 

1  Proc.  of  Soc.  of  Atifiq.  of  Scof.  xxv.  161  (Paper  by  Sir  Daniel 
Wilson). 

2  Ibid,  xxvii.  410.  '^  See  above,  pp.  2  3  5  ,?/  seq. 
^  Proc.  of  Soc.  of  Antiq.  of  Scot.  xxv.  161,  162. 


APP.  F]  RESIDENCES  IN  EDINBURGH  319' 

and  going  many  of  the  first  personages  in  the  country ;  and  to  that 
house  during  his  last  fortnight's  iUness  all  men's  minds  were  turned 
with  such  hopes  and  fears  as  their  sympathies  prompted  in  connec- 
tion with  the  man  whose  life  and  death  meant  so  much  for  his 
country.  That  this  house  should  be  remembered  in  tradition,  there- 
fore, is  precisely  what  we  should  expect.  As  far  as  is  ascertained, 
the  tradition  is  first  mentioned  by  Stark  in  his  Picture  of  Editiburgh, 
published  in  1806  ;^  but  this  late  reference  need  throw  no  suspicion 
on  its  validity.  Before  the  present  century  the  modern  guide-book 
had  not  been  invented.  In  such  histories  of  Edinburgh  as  those  of 
Arnot  and  Maitland  it  was  beyond  the  writer's  scope  to  specify  the 
private  residences  of  all  the  notable  characters  to  whom  they  made 
reference.  That  Stark  correctly  reported  the  tradition  is  proved  by 
the  fact  that  it  was  accepted  by  such  an  accurate  writer  as  M'Crie,^ 
whose  Life  of  Knox  appeared  in  1 8 1 1 . 

The  evidence  in  favour  of  the  tenement  at  present  known  as 
Knox's  house  may  be  thus  briefly  summed  up.  As  far  as  James 
Mosman  is  concerned,  the  presumption  is  that  he  entered  the  Castle 
of  Edinburgh  at  some  date  previous  to  Knox's  death.  Against  the 
tradition  that  points  to  Mosman's  house  as  a  residence  of  Knox  no 
satisfactory  evidence  has  been  adduced.  In  regard  to  the  tradition 
itself,  it  was  natural,  under  all  the  circumstances,  that  it  should  be  at 
once  precise  and  continuous.  Before  this  tradition  is  rejected,  there- 
fore, it  seems  reasonable  to  ask  for  facts  which  it  directly  contradicts. 

^  Stark  describes  the  house  as  follows  :  "  Among  the  antiquities  of 
Edinburgh  may  be  mentioned  the  house  of  the  great  Scottish  Reformer, 
John  Knox.  It  stands  on  the  north  side,  at  the  foot  of  the  High  Street, 
and  projecting  into  the  street,  reduces  it  nearly  one  half  of  its  width." 
In  Gait's  A7i7ials  of  the  Parish  (1821)  there  is  the  following  reference  to 
Knox's  house.  Mr.  Balwhidderis  speaking  of  his  visit  to  Edinburgh  in 
1779.  "Ill  short,  eveiybody  in  Edinburgh  were  in  a  manner  weari- 
some kind,  and  we  could  scarcely  find  time  to  see  the  Castle  and  the 
palace  of  Holyrood -house,  and  that  more  sanctified  place,  where  that 
Maccabeus  of  the  Kirk  of  Scotland,  John  Knox,  was  wont  to  live." 

2  M'Crie,  Life  of  Knox,  p.  270,  note  (edit.  1855). 


APPENDIX  Gi  (vol.  ii.  p.  290) 

THE    PORTRAIT    AND    PERSONAL    APPEARANCE    OF    JOHN    KNOX 

About  the  year  1875  there  was  some  talk  of  a  national  memorial  to 
John  Knox.  The  proposal  raised  an  unexpected  question — Does 
an  authentic  portrait  of  Knox  exist  ?  Among  others  who  took  part 
in  the  discussion  was  Carlyle,  who  in  a  paper  contributed  to  Fraser's 
Alagazine  (April  1875)  ^  impugned  the  authenticity  of  all  the  ac- 
credited portraits  of  Knox.  Refusing  to  accept  any  of  these  as  a 
possible  likeness  of  a  man  with  the  character  and  history  of  Knox, 
he  brought  forward  another  portrait,  with  the  confident  assertion  that 
if  it  was  not  John  Knox,  the  Scottish  hero  and  evangelist,  he  could 
not  conjecture  who  or  what  it  was.  This  portrait,  the  property  of 
Lord  Somerville,  had  been  first  published  in  1836  by  the  Society  for 
the  Diffusion  of  Useful  Knowledge,  and  was  reproduced  in  1849  by 
Charles  Knight  in  his  Pictorial  History  of  Efigland.  It  was  in 
Knight's  History  that  Carlyle  first  saw  it,  and  so  struck  was  he  by  the 
type  of  features  it  represented,  that  he  readily  accepted  it  for  what  it 
was  given  out  to  be — an  authentic  portrait  of  the  Scottish  Reformer. 
Further  inquiries  into  the  antecedents  of  the  Somerville  portrait 
strengthened  his  conviction  that  of  all  the  representations  of  Knox 
we  possess,  this  has  the  best  claim  to  be  considered  a  trustworthy 
likeness. 

In  reply  to  Carlyle,  Mr.  James  Drummond,  Curator  of  the 
National  Portrait  Gallery  of  Scotland,  read  a  paper  to  the  Society  of 
Antiquaries  the  month  following  the  appearance  of  the  article  in 
Fr user's  Magazitie.  Mr.  Drummond  had  j  no  difficulty  in  showing 
that  there  was  no  evidence  whatever  for  the  authenticity  of  the 
Somerville  portrait.  Before  1766,  the  year  when  it  is  supposed  to 
have  come  into  the  possession  of  the  Somerville  family,  the  portrait 
has  no  record,  and  it  cannot  be  established  that  even  at  that  date  it 
was  accepted  as  a  portrait  of  Knox.     But  one  fact  seemed  to  dispose 

^  The  bulk  of  this  paper  originally  appeared  in  the  Scotsman  of  20th 
May  1893. 

2  Afterwards  reprinted  along  with  his  Early  Kings  of  Norway. 


APP.  G]  PORTRAITS  OF  KNOX  321 

of  Carlyle's  contention.  In  1797  Sir  William  Musgrave  applied  to 
the  Lord  Somerville  of  that  day  for  a  list  of  the  portraits  in  the 
possession  of  his  family.  The  list  was  supplied ;  but  it  contained 
no  hint  of  any  portrait  of  Knox.  The  truth  is,  as  Mr.  Drummond 
showed,  that  Carlyle's  sole  argument  was  his  individual  impression 
that  the  Somerville  portrait  more  adequately  than  any  other  em- 
bodied the  conception  he  had  formed  of  Knox's  character  and 
genius.  As  will  presently  be  seen,  Carlyle  was  as  far  astray  in  his 
physiognomic  as  in  his  historical  conjectures. 

In  his  claim  for  the  Somerville  portrait  Carlyle  had  no  solid 
ground  to  go  upon  :  in  impugning  the  authenticity  of  the  accepted 
portraits,  however,  he  had  reasons  which  could  not  be  conclusively 
refuted.  Of  all  these  portraits  it  is  agreed  that  the  original  exemplar 
is  that  in  Beza's  Icones,  the  first  edition  of  which  appeared  in  1580. 
Besides  that  of  Beza  the  only  two  portraits  that  deserve  serious  con- 
sideration are  the  Torphichen  portrait  and  that  engraved  by  Hondius 
for  Verheiden's  Imagines  in  1602.  The  Torphichen  portrait,  which 
is  given  in  M'Crie's  Life  of  Knox,  is  manifestly  a  mere  modification 
of  that  of  Beza.  The  engraving  of  Hondius  fully  deserves  Sir  David 
Wilkie's  praise ;  but  it  also  is  indubitably  based  on  the  portrait  in 
Beza's  Icones.  The  question  whether  we  possess  a  trustworthy  like- 
ness of  Knox,  therefore,  turned  on  the  authenticity  of  this  Beza 
portrait,  and,  as  Carlyle  was  able  to  show,  the  evidence  for  its 
authenticity  could  not  be  considered  conclusive.  The  following 
entry  in  the  Treasurer's  accounts  for  June  1581  was,  in  truth,  the 
only  evidence  forthcoming  to  prove  that  Beza  had  applied  to  Scot- 
land for  an  original  likeness  of  Knox  : — 

"  Itim  [sic]  to  Adrianc  [sic]  Vaensoun,  Fleming  painter,  for  twa 
pictures  painted  be  him,  and  send  [sic]  to  Theodorus  Besa,  conform 
to  ane  precept  as  the  samin  producit  upon  compt  beris.      81i.  los." 

These  "twa  pictures,"  it  was  argued,  could  only  have  been  the 
portraits  of  James  VI.  and  John  Knox  that  appear  in  the  Icones. 
But  the  date  of  the  above  entry  is  158 1,  and  Beza's  book  appeared 
in  1580.  To  Carlyle,  prepossessed  in  favour  of  the  Somerville 
portrait,  the  inference  appeared  wholly  unjustifiable.  Again,  it  was 
maintained  in  support  of  the  Beza  portrait  that  Beza  must  have  seen 
Knox  in  Geneva,  and  would  not  permit  an  impossible  presentment 
of  him  to  appear  in  his  book.  But  Beza's  letters  to  Knox  do  not 
imply  personal  acquaintance,  and  there  is  no  other  evidence  to  prove 
that  the  two  had  ever  come  face  to  face.  What  seemed  to  complete 
Carlyle's  triumph  over  the  Beza  portrait  was  the  curious  circumstance 
that  in  a  French  translation  of  the  Icones  published  in  1581  by 
Simon  Goulart,  a  colleague  of  Beza's  in  Geneva,  a  totally  different 
portrait  of  Knox  appeared  in  place  of  the  one  in  the  original  book. 
In  explanation  of  this  blunder  it  was  asserted  that  it  was  due  to  the 
printer  and  not  to  the  translator.  Yet  the  fact  that  such  blunders 
VOL.   II  21 


322  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX  [app.  g 

could  happen  was  not  fitted  to  increase  our  faith  in  books  of  this  class. 
For  sceptical  critics,  therefore,  there  was  still  room  to  question  the 
authenticity  of  the  original  of  all  the  accredited  portraits  of  Knox — 
more  especially  as  no  detailed  description  of  his  personal  appear- 
ance was  known  to  exist. 

During  a  visit  to  the  Continent  in  search  of  traces  of  Knox  the 
following  document  came  into  my  hands.  As  will  be  seen,  it 
definitely  settles  the  difficulty  regarding  the  portraits  of  Knox,  and 
supplies  details  regarding  his  personal  appearance  of  greater  interest 
than  even  the  portrait  itself.  That  this  document  has  come  to  light 
is  due  to  the  labours  of  two  Genevan  scholars,  M.  Aubert  and  M. 
le  Pasteur  Eugene  Choisy.  In  the  course  of  preparing  an  edition 
of  the  letters  of  Beza,  these  gentlemen  had  occasion  to  examine 
certain  manuscripts  belonging  to  the  Ducal  Library  at  Gotha. 
Among  these  was  the  following  letter  of  Peter  Young  to  Beza,  to 
which  M.  Aubert  drew  my  attention,  and  which  he  courteously  placed 
at  my  disposal.  Peter  (afterwards  Sir  Peter)  Young,  it  may  be  said,  was 
assistant  to  George  Buchanan  in  the  education  of  James  VI.,  now  in 
his  fourteenth  year.  Knox  had  been  dead  seven  years  when  the  letter 
was  written,  and  Buchanan  had  reached  the  age  of  seventy-three. 

After  this  letter  there  can  be  no  reasonable  doubt  that  the 
portrait  of  Knox  sent  by  Young  to  Beza  is  the  original  of  that  which 
appears  in  the  Icofies}  Tested  by  its  fidelity  to  Young's  description 
of  the  personal  appearance  of  Knox,  the  Beza  portrait  must  be 
regarded  as  an  admirable  likeness,  though  the  engraving  of  Hondius 
in  Yerheiden's  Imagines  is  even  a  more  striking  presentment.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  Somerville  portrait,  so  confidently  put  forward 
by  Carlyle,  does  not  even  remotely  suggest  the  features  and  expres- 
sion delineated  in  the  letter  of  Young. 

(Inscr.  Herzogliche  Bibliothek  Gotha,  codex  chartaceus 
A.  405,  fol.  341  :   orig.  autogr.) 

Redditae  mihi  sunt  v.[ir]  c.[larissime]  mense  superior!  a 
Servino  vestro  humanissimae  tuae  literae,  quum  paulo  ante  a  nostrate 
quodam  alias  accepissem,  sed  ante  sesquiannum  in  Serrani  gratiam 
a  te  scriptas.  Ego  utrisque  tuis  literis  pro  virili  satisfacere  conatus 
sum.  Nam  Serrani  Platonem,  hoc  est  eius  in  Platone  illustrando 
industriam,  verbis  apud  Regiam  Maiestatem  ornavi  quantum  potui, 
necnon  huius  Servini  labores  in  suo  genere  non  contemnendos,  ac 
pro  meo  instituto  ipsas  tuas  literas  ad  verbum  eius  Maiestati  perlegi, 
quibus  ille  certe  magnopere  afficitur.     Amat  enim  mirum  in  modum 

1  In  his  statue  of  Knox  in  the  quadrangle  of  the  Free  Church  College, 
Edinburgh,  Mr.  John  Hutchison,  R.S.A.,  has  admirably  rendered  the 
resultant  impression  from  Beza's  portrait  and  Young's  description. 


App.  G]  PORTRAITS  OF  KNOX  323 

doctos  omnes  ac  pios,  ac  te  imprimis,  vestramque  adeo  hierapolin, 
quam  ut  piorum  omnium  ac  doctorum  asylum  et  portum  deperit, 
quod  literis  quoque  suis  ad  S.[enatum]  P.[opulum]  Q.[ue]  G. 
[enevensem]  publice  scriptis  testatum  voluit. 

D.  Buchananus,  quem  tuo  nomine  salutavi,  te  ofificiosissime 
resalutat,  mittitque  ad  te  Baptistam  suum,  una  cum  Dialogo  de  jure 
regni. — Is,  tuo  maxime  hortatu,  quamvis  morbis  ac  senio  confectus, 
recudere  Psalmos  suos  statuit,  cumprimum  Tremellianam  interpre- 
tationem  nactus  fuerit. 

Quod  petis,  ut  ad  te  illustrium  virorum  qui  in  promovenda  Dei 
gloria  apud  nos  desudarunt,  praesertim  D.  Cnoxi,  imagines  mittam, 
sic  habeto  eam  semper  fuisse  nostrae  gentis  incuriarn,  ne  quid  gravius 
dicam,  ut  nihil  unquam  huic  studio  tribuerit.  Quo  fit  ut  ne  Cnoxi 
quidem,  viri  sempiterna  memoria  dignissimi,  effigies  ulla  extet.  Adii 
tamen  pictores  nostros,  qui  si  modo  poUicitis  steterint,  una  cum  hisce 
imaginem  eius  accipies.  Interim  ego  hie  tibi  eius  vultum  ac  habitum 
meo  penicillo,  quantum  vel  ipse  meminisse,  vel  ex  ipsius  familiariss.- 
[imorum]  dum  vixit  relatu  (quos  in  consilium  super  hac  re  adhibui), 
consequi  potui,  utcumque  describam.  Coeterum  eius  integram 
historiam  a  D.  Lausonio  expectabis. 

Fuit  itaque  statura  corporis  paulo  iusta  minor,  apta  et  eleganti 
membrorum  compositione,  humeris  latioribus,  digitis  longiusculis, 
caput  modicum,  capillus  niger,  facies  subnigricans,  nee  aspectu 
ingrata.  In  vultu  gravi  et  severo  inerat,  non  sine  gratia  quadam, 
dignitas  et  maiestas  naturalis,  nee  aberat  in  ira  supercilio  auctoritas. 
Sub  fronte  angustiore  modice  assurgebat  superciliorum  vallum,  malis 
etiam  subrubris  ac  leviter  tumentibus,  quo  fiebat  ut  oculi  retrocedere 
et  cavi  viderentur.  Color  eis  erat  in  fusco  caeruleus,  aspectus  acer 
et  vividus,  facies  longiuscula,  nasus  longior,  ore  amplo,  labris  magnis 
ac  superiore  paulo  crassiore,  barba  nigra,  variantibus  eam  canis, 
sesquipalmum  longa  ac  modice  densa. — Decessit  undesexagesimo 
aetatis  anno.^     Coetera  Lausonius. 

D.  Buchanani  patris  mei  observandissimi  elogium  ad  te  mitto, 
una  cum  ipsius  effigie  ad  vivum  expressa.  Plura  mitterem,  ni 
temporis  angustiis  excluderer.      Sed  haec  alias. 

Gaudeo  consobrinae  meae  dignum  maioribus  utriusque  virum 
contigisse,  atque  utinam  faustum  utrique  ac  felix  sit  hoc  coniugium. 

Quid  Groslotius  agat,  turn  ex  ipsius  literis,  tum  ex  hoc  poteris 
ntelligere.      Mihi  certe  ac  merito  cura  erit.     Vicissim  ego  tibi  T. 

1  This  would  make  Knox's  birth-year  15  13  instead  of  1505,  the  date 
usually  assigned.  Curiously  enough,  in  his  account  of  Knox  in  the 
Icones,  Beza  assigns  24th  December  1572  as  the  day  of  his  death.  It 
is  usual  to  speak  of  Knox  and  Buchanan  as  having  been  born  in  the 
same  year :  there  seems  at  least  to  have  been  only  a  few  months 
between  them. 


\ 


324  LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX  [app.  g] 

Lindeseium,  nobilem  adolescentem    nostratem  qui    apud  vos   agit, 
commendo. 

Unum  adhuc  addam,  quod  mihi  modo  venit  in  mentem. 
Locus  est  in  Epist.  Pauli  ad  Cor.  priore,  cap.  XI°,  v.  lo  :  Sta  rov^ 
ayyeAoii?,  in  quem  annotasti  ^  quid  illud  sit,  nondum  tibi  liquere. 
Ego,  quum  diu  me  torsissem,  tandem  probabili  coniectura  ductus, 
quamvis  reclamantibus  omnibus  exemplaribus  quae  mihi  videre 
contigit,  ac  interpretibus  ipsis,  roi-s  dvOpu>Trovs,  postulante  id  sententia, 
necnon  scripturae  ac  literarum  afifinitate,  reponendum  censui.    Atque 

ita  scriptum  fuisse  ab  Apostolo  existimo  :  avoi's  vel  sic  ayoi's,  quod 

librarii,    compendio    scribendi    decepti,   ayfov';  vel  avFovs,  hoc  est 
ayyeAow  legerunt,  nuUo  sensu.     Tu  iudica  ac  vale,  v.[ir]  clarissime. 
D.  Jesus  te  Ecclesiae  suae  quamdiutissime  servet  incolumem. 
Dat.[um]  Edinburgi  XIIT  Novembr.  1579. 

Tuus  Junius 

Quum  hasce  obsignarem,  commodum  advenit  pictor  qui  mihi 
una  pyxide  Buchananum  et  Cnoxum  simul  expressos  attulit. 

1  See  Novum  Testamentum,  Textus  graecus  cum  duabus  interpre- 
tationibus,  et  annotationibus  Th.  Bezae  [Genevae],  i  565,  fol.  p.  271,  272. 


INDEX 


Abbotshall,  near  Kirkcaldy,  a  tem- 
porary residence  of  Knox,  ii.  263 

Adamson,  Elizabeth,  a  convert  to 
Reform,  294 

Adamson,  John,  one  of  Knox's  land- 
lords in  Edinburgh,  ii.  317 

A  Lasco,  John,  his  Church  order  com- 
pared with  Book  of  Discipline,  ii. 
127,  130,  133,  134,  147 

Albany,  Duke  of.  Regent  of  Scotland, 

37,  39 

Allhallows,  vicarage  of,  offered  to 
Knox,  135 

Amersham,  Knox  preaches  in,  141 

Amiens,  Bishop  of,  arrives  in  Scotland 
with  three  doctors  of  the  Sorbonne, 
ii.  47 

Anabaptist,  the  author  of  the  Care- 
less by  Necessity,  257,  258,  259 

Anabaptists,  in  Germany,  Geneva, 
England,  and  Scotland,  249;  in 
Scotland,  350 

Anderson,  Alexander,  Principal  of 
King's  College,  Aberdeen,  ii.  100 

Angus,  Earl  of,  274 

Anstruther,  Knox  preaches  in,  ii.  16 

Apologie  of  our  Departure,  document 
erroneously  assigned  to  Knox,  ii. 
61,  tiote 

Appellation  to  the  Nobles  and  Estates 
of  Scotland,  letter  of  Knox,  354-356 

Argyle,  Archibald,  fourth  Earl  of,  his 
correspondence  with  Archbishop 
Hamilton,  329 

Argyle,  Countess  of,  ii.  186 

Argyle,  fifth  Earl  of,  205  ;  his  char- 
acter and  opinions,  303-304 ;  ap- 
pointed Commissioner  to  convey  the 
"  Honours "  to  France,  322  ;  his 
part  in  the  Reformation,  ii.  3 ;  sent  to 


Perth,  12  ;  his  interview  with  Knox, 
14  ;  leaves  Perth  for  St.  Andrews, 
16  ;  in  Fife,  18  ;  goes  to  Glasgow, 
63  ;  107,  108  ;  goes  over  to  Mary, 
236,  241,  254 

Armstrong,  Andrew,  ii.  198 

Arran,  Regent.      See  Chatelherault 

Arran,  Earl  of,  son  of  the  Duke  of 
Chatelherault,  his  experiences  in 
France,  ii.  44  ;  joins  the  Congrega- 
tion, 45  ;  proposed  as  a  husband  for 
Queen  Elizabeth,  46  ;  goes  to  St. 
Andrews,  63  ;  fights  against  the 
French,  65  ;  Knox  reproaches  him, 
67  ;  71;  his  proposed  marriage  with 
Elizabeth,  92,  93 ;  his  proposed 
marriage  with  Mary,  97,  98  ;  107  ; 
108  ;  lodges  a  protest  against  the 
Mass,  160  ;  reconciled  to  Bothwell 
by  Knox,  173  ;  goes  mad,  174 

Assembly,  General,  meetings  of,  ii. 
168,  174,  183,  202,  241,  242,  243, 
244,  246,  277  ;  pays  Knox's  stipend 
to  his  widow,  289 

Atholl,  John,  fourth  Earl  of,  ii.  103 

Auchterarder,  the  French  encamp  in, 
ii.   II 

Averrhoes,  34 

Aylmer,  John,  his  reply  to  Knox's 
"  Monstruous  Blast,"  237,  238 

Ayr,  letter  from,  regarding  Knox,  ii. 
260,  261 

Ayrshire,  Knox's  first  visit  to,  305, 
306 

Bale,  John,  his  description  of  Geneva, 

195 
Balfour,    James,    a    galley-slave    with 

Knox,  85  ;  ii.  254,  264 
Ballads,  Gude  and  Godlie,  288,  note 


326 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 


Balnaves,  Henry,  75,  87  ;  his  treatise 
on  justification,  90-99 ;  sketch  of 
his  life,  90,  91  ;  292  ;  ii.  69 

Bannatyne,  Richard,  secretary  of 
Knox,  ii.  213,  222;  his  Meni07-iales, 
ii.  256,  257  ;  273  ;  285 

Barroun,  James,  a  hearer  of  Knox,  294 

Bass,  Laird  of,  291 

Bayle,  quoted  regarding  the  CathoUc 
slanders  concerning  Knox,  ii.  310 

Beaton,  David,  Cardinal,  60 ;  his 
policy  in  Scotland,  62-69  ;  2S3 

Beaton,  James,  Archbishop  of  Glas- 
gow, 309  ;  ii.  50 

Beaton,  James,  Archbishop  of  Glasgow, 
afterwards  of  St.  Andrews,  22 

Bedford,  Earl  of,  ii.  306,  307,  308 

"  Beggars'  Summonds,"  338,  339 

Bellius,  Martinus,  pseudonym  of  Sebas- 
tian t^astalio,  247 

Bembo,  Cardinal,  his  pagan  feeling,  ii. 
120 

Berne,  the  rival  of  Geneva,  199,  200 

Berwick,  Knox  a  preacher  in,  108-1 14; 
133;  agreement  made  therebetween 
Elizabeth  and  the  Congregation,  ii. 
70 ;  Knox's  visit  to,  239  ;  246 ; 
306  ;  308 

Beza,  4,  10 ;  his  account  of  Knox, 
57  ;  writes  to  Bullinger,  243,  note, 
244  ;  his  controversy  with  Castalio, 
247,  248,  258  ;  his  opinion  of  Knox, 
ii.  212  ;  his  opinion  of  bishops,  278, 
279  ;  his  portrait  of  Knox  in  his 
Icones,  321-324 

Bible,  the  Geneva,  205 

Bishop,  Knox's  opinion  of  the  office  of, 

92,  93 
Blackader,  Archbishop  of  Glasgow,  47 
Blackfriars'   Church,  Edinburgh,  Knox 

summoned  to  appear  there,  307 
Blackfriars,  of  Perth,  ii.  7 
Blandrato,  Georgio,  201 
Bodin,  Jean,  held  the  same  opinion  as 

Knox   on    the   regiment   of   women, 

238-240 
Boece,    Hector,    his    opinion    of    the 

Catholic  Church  in  Scotland,  51,  52 
Bolsec,  Jerome,   driven   from  Geneva, 

246 
Bond,  First,  of  Scottish  Protestantism, 

326 
Bonet,     Governor     of    Orkney,     28 1, 

282 
Book  of  Discipline,  ii.  93,  94  ;  feeling 

with    regard    to    it,    99 ;    discussed 

before  Parliament,  100;  account  of, 


122-151  ;  rejected  by  the  Protestant 
Lords,  169 

Bothwell,  James  Hepburn,  fourth  Earl 
of)  5)  7  ;  seizes  the  money  sent  by 
Elizabeth  for  the  Congregation,  ii. 
55  ;  returns  from  France,  103  ;  his 
character  and  career,  235  ;  his  mar- 
riage with  Mary,  240 

Bothwell,  Patrick,  Earl  of,  6  ;   15 

Boulogne,  268  ;  peace  of,  277 

Bower,  continuator  of  Fordun,  16 

Bowes,  George,  brother  -  in  -  law  of 
Knox,  ii.  56 

Bowes,  Marjory,  first  wife  of  Knox, 
112,  191;  her  arrival  in  Scotland, 
ii.  56 ;  her  death  and  personal 
character,  95  ;  her  children,  289 

Bowes,  Richard,  husband  of  Knox's 
mother-in-law,  ill,  112 

Bowes,  Sir  Robert,  145 

Bowes,  Mrs.,  mother-in-law  of  Knox, 
III,  113,  135,  136,  144,  146,  147, 
148,  190,  191,  192,  193,  194;  letter 
of  Knox  to,  292  ;  Knox's  relations 
to  her  explained,  ii.  276-278 

Boyd,  Robert,  Lord,  ii.  63,  236, 
254,  287 

Brandling,  Sir  Robert,  Mayor  of  New- 
castle, 121,  134 

Brechin,  298 ;  the  new  religion  preached 
in,  ii.  43 

Brounefield,  William,   pupil  of  Knox, 

Brunston,  Laird  of,  292 

Buchanan,    David,    editor    of    Knox's 

History,  ii.  214,  221,  222 
Buchanan,     George,     contrasted     with 

Knox,    3,    4,    6,    19;    20,    25,    49; 

ii.   242,  note  ;  245,  295 
Buckinghamshire,  Knox,  resides  there, 

141,   142 
Bullinger,    Knox    consults    him,     154- 

157;   227 
Borne,    Nicol,    his    slanders    regarding 

Knox,  ii.  311,  313,  314 
Burns,  Robert,  the  poet,  ii.  295 

Caithness,  George,  Earl  of,  ii.  103 

Calder,  the  Laird  of,  7,  283 

Calder  House,  Knox's  first  visit  to, 
302,  303  ;  his  second  visit,  306 

Gallon  Hill,  Edinburgh,  ii.  28,  29 

Calvin,  John,  his  preface  to  the  In- 
stitutes of  the  Christian  Religion, 
55  ;  his  relations  to  Knox,  92,  93  ; 
consulted  by  Knox,  154-156;  con- 
sulted by  the  Frankfort  exiles,  1 74, 


INDEX 


327 


176;  his  triumph  in  Geneva,  187- 
189  ;  his  complaint  against  Knox, 
242,  243  ;  his  "  Commentaries  on 
Isaiah,"  242,  243  ;  his  letter  to 
Cecil,  243,  244 ;  his  controversy 
with  Castalio,  247,  248  ;  his  work 
contrasted  with  that  of  the  Scottish 
Reformers,  ii.  124;  130  ;  202; 
compared  with  Knox,  294 

Calvinism,  an  absolute  religion,  252  ; 
borne  out  by  the  laws  of  nature, 
254 ;  its  practical  bearings,  257  ; 
as  a  theology  and  a  religion  it  met 
the  desire  of  the  Scottish  people,  ii. 
115-121 

Campbell,    Sir    Hew,    Sheriff  of  Ayr, 

344 

Careless  by  Necessity,  Knox's  reply  to, 
249 

Carlisle,  treaty  of,  318 

Carlyle,  Thomas,  9 ;  compared  with 
Knox,  236,  311;  ii.  295  ;  on  Knox's 
portraits,  320-322 

Carrick  in  Ayrshire,  gained  to  Pro- 
testantism, ii.  233 

Cassillis,  second  Earl  of,  274  ;  ii. 
177.  233 

Castalio,  or  Castellio,  Sebastian,  his 
controversy  with  Calvin  and  Beza, 
246-248  ;  difference  between  him 
and  Calvin,  257,  261 

Castle  Campbell,  Knox's  visit  to,  312 

Catechism,  Archbishop  Hamilton's, 
289 

Catharine  de'  Medici,  ii.  103,  106, 
157,  247,  note 

Catholicism  of  Spain,  as  compared 
with  that  of  France,  ii.   113 

Cecil,  Sir  William,  letter  of  Knox  to, 
215,  223,  224  ;  contrasted  with 
Knox,  224,  225  ;  letter  of  Knox  to, 
241  ;  ii.  21  ;  writes  to  Maitland, 
33  ;  corresponds  with  the  Scottish 
Protestants,  37,  38  ;  letter  of  Knox 
to>  39  ;  59>  i^ote ;  English  agent  at 
the  Treaty  of  Edinburgh,  82  ;  283, 
284,  306-308 

Chalmers,  John  of  Gadgirth,  331 

Chambers,  Richard,  170,  171,  172 

Charterhouse  Abbey  in  Perth,  de- 
stroyed, ii.  8 

Chatelherault,  Duke  of  (Earl  of  Arran, 
Regent  of  Scotland),  49  ;  ruled  by 
Cardinal  Beaton,  62,  63  ;  his  diffi- 
cult position,  272;  repents  his  agree- 
ment with  France,  273,  275  ;  con- 
sents to  demit    the   Regency,  279  ; 


promised  the  Dukedom  of  Chatelher- 
ault, ib.;  320;  opposed  to  France, 
325,  326 ;  in  communication  with 
England,  340  ;  attends  Mary  of 
Lorraine  to  Perth,  ii.  15  ;  also  to 
Dunbar  and  Leith,  22,  28 ;  corre- 
sponds with  England,  2i^ ;  joins  the 
Congregation,  45,  46;  goes  to  Glas- 
gow, 63  ;  found  fault  with  by  Knox, 
69;  flees  to  Hamilton,  71;  his 
interview  with  Knox,  96 ;  sups  with 
Knox,  179  ;  takes  the  side  of  Mary, 
241,  249,  264  ;   317 

Church  of  the  White  Ladies,  166;  ii. 
299 

Church,  Mediaeval,  in  Scotland,  41-54 

Church  and  State,  their  relations  as 
defined  in  the  Book  of  Discipline,  ii. 
150 

Clacton  Magna,  ii.  289 

Clergy,  Catholic,  in  Scotland,  their 
character,  41 

Cockburn,  Alexander,  a  pupil  of  Knox, 
celebrated  by  Buchanan,  71,  72 

Cockburn,  John,  Laird  of  Ormiston,  7, 
66,  67,  68  ;  292  ;  ii,  55 

Coldingliam,  Prior  of,  Lord  John 
Stewart,  ii.   195 

Coligny,  Admiral,  220  ;  compared 
with  the  Regent  Moray,  ii.  251 

Common  Prayers,  Book  of,  327,  and 
7iote,  ii.  24 

Confession  of  Faith,  first  national  Scot- 
tish, ii.  88,  122,  123 

Convention  of  Protestants  meets  in 
Edinburgh,  ii.  282,  283 

Council  of  the  North,  115 

Councils,  Scottish  Provincial,  42,  43 

Coverdale,  Miles,  in  Geneva,  213 

Cox,  Richard,  his  doings  in  Frankfort, 
177-186 

Craig,  John,  colleague  of  Knox,  ii. 
260,  264,  280,  281 

Crail,  Knox  preaches  there,  ii.  16 

Cranmer,  Archbishop,  105,  107,  1 14, 
116,  117,  119,  128,  129,  130,  160; 
ii.   124 

Cranston,  Patrick,  ii.  198 

Craw,  Paul,  burned  as  a  heretic,  46 

Crawford,  David,  Earl  of,  ii.   103 

Crofts,  Sir  James,  Governor  of  Ber- 
wick, his  relations  to  Knox,  ii.  40  ; 
letter  of  Knox  to  him,  49  ;  corre- 
spondence with  Knox,  57,  61  ;  his 
interview  with  Mary  of  Lorraine,  75 

Crossraguel  Abbey,  ii.  108 

Cupar,  in  Fife,  ii.  18,  19,  66 


328 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 


Dalkeith,  ii.  73 

Dante,  compared  with  Milton,  ii.   116 

Darnley,  Lord,  comes  to  Scotland,  ii. 
206  ;  is  married  to  Mary,  ib.  ;  at- 
tends a  sermon  by  Knox,  208  ; 
takes  part  in  the  murder  of  Rizzio, 
230  ;  gained  over  by  Mary,  232  ; 
Mary's  hatred  of  him,  234  ;  his 
murder,  240 

D'Aubigne,  Agrippa,  French  historian, 
compared  with  Knox,  ii.  223 

D'Aumale,  Due,  brother  of  Mary  of 
Lorraine,  274 

Dauphin,  his  letter  to  the  Pope  on  the 
state  of  Scotland,  ii.  300,  302 

Davidson,  John,  writer,  Edinburgh,  ii. 

317 

Davidson,  Rev.  John,  quoted  regarding 
Knox's  parentage,  9 

Deacons,  election  of,  ii.  145 

De  Foix,  French  ambassador  in  Scot- 
land, has  secret  meetings  with  Knox, 

ii-  173 

Delaporte,  M.,  preaches  in  Dieppe, 
217 

D'Elboeuf,  Marquis,  ii.  67,  70 

De  Noailles,  French  agent  in  Scotland, 
ii.  106 

Dieppe,  148,  152,  154,  158,  162,  206, 
211  ;  its  Scottish  colony,  219; 
Knox's  work  in,  215-221;  its  results, 
ii.  291 

Discipline  in  the  Scottish  Reformed 
Church,  ii.   141-145 

Dominican  Monastery  in  Perth,  de- 
stroyed, ii.  8 

Donatus,  "  plane  Donat,"  18 

Douglas,  George,  brother  of  Earl  of 
Angus,  274 

Douglas,  Hugh,  of  Longniddry,  66,  67, 
70,  291 

Douglas,  John,  Rector  of  St.  Andrews, 
ii.  88,  7iote ;  nominated  Archbishop 
of  St.  Andrews,  271,  272 

Douglas,  John,  preacher,  329,  330 

D'Oysel,  Sieur,  French  ambassador  in 
Scotland,  269,  270 ;  his  letter  to 
the  Due  d'Aumale,  274  ;  a  coun- 
sellor of  Mary  of  Lorraine,  281  ; 
marches  on  Perth,  ii.  1 1  ;  makes 
terms  with  the  Congregation,  13  ; 
enters  Perth,  15  ;  in  Fife,  18,  19; 
in  Dunbar,  22  ;  his  letters  regarding 
the  state  of  Scotland,  25,  26;  marches 
on  Leith,  28,  64,  65,  66,  67 

Drummond,  James,  on  Knox's  portrait, 
ii.  320,  321 


Du  Croc,  French  resident  in  Edinburgh, 

ii.  282 
Dudley,  Lord  Robert,  Earl  of  Leicester, 

corresponds  with  Knox,  proposed  as 

a   husband   for  Mary,    ii.    205,  and 

note 
Dumont,  M.,  preaches  in  Dieppe,  217 
Dun,    Erskine  of,   a  hearer  of  Knox, 

294,    296,    297 ;    account    of  him, 

299-301  ;    chosen  as   representative 

to    be    sent   to  France,   320 ;  ii.    5, 

192,  194,  195 
Dun,   House  of,  Knox's  first  visit  to, 

298-300  ;  second  visit,  307 
Dunbar,  Gavin,  Archbishop  of  Glasgow, 

22,  note 
Dunbar,  William,  the  poet,  48 
Dunblane,  Bishop  of,  ii.  71,  89,  91 
Dundas,  Euphemia,  her  slander  against 

Knox,  ii.  303 
Dundee,  a  stronghold  of  Protestantism, 

345  ;   Knox  visits  it,  ii.  4 
Dunfermline,  Abbot  of,  ii.  50 
Dunkeld,    Bishop    of,   ii.    71,  89,   92, 

314 
Durie,  John,  ii.  285,  286 

Edinburgh,  centre  of  the  struggle 
between  the  King's  and  Queen's 
parties,  ii.  254 

Edinburgh  Castle,  the  stronghold  of 
the  Queen's  party,  ii.  255,  257,  274 

Edinburgh,  Treaty  of,  ii.  81-83 

Edward  VL,  88  ;  his  relations  to  Knox, 
126  ;  his  Book  of  Common  Prayer 
used  in  Scotland,  327,  note  ;  ii.  24 

Elizabeth,  Queen  of  England,  her 
accession,  213  ;  Knox's  relations  to, 
240;  letter  of  Knox  to,  241-242, 
244 ;  results  of  her  accession  for 
Scotland,  322,  339  ;  letter  of  Knox 
to,  ii.  39  ;  sends  money  to  the  Con- 
gregation, 55  ;  her  proposed  marriage 
with  Arran,  92,  93  ;  takes  the  side 
of  Mary  against  the  Protestants, 
243  ;  her  friendliness  to  Mary,  247 

Elders,  election  of,  their  function,  ii. 
145,  146 

Episcopacy,  beginnings  of,  in  Scotland, 
ii.  269,  270,  278,  279 

Erasmus,  4,  23,  24,  26,  28,  97,  160; 
on  Freewill,  245 

Erskine,  John,  Earl  of  Mar  (afterwards 
Regent),  205  ;  his  attitude  towards 
the  Reformation,  303,  304  ;  ii.  28, 
48  ;  Regent  of  Scotland,  271 

Erskine,  John.      See  Dun,  Erskine  of 


INDEX 


329 


Erskine,     JNIargaret,     mother    of     the 

Regent  Moray,  305 
Excommunication    as    defined     in    the 

Book  of  Discipline,  ii.   144 
Eyemouth,  fort  built  at,  318 

Failford,  Abbey  of,  ii.  108 

Falkland,  ii.  17-19 

Farel,  William,  compared  with  Knox, 

ii.  202 
Fenelon,    Archbishop,    approved     the 

Dragonnades,  73 
Finlayson,    in    Parish    of  Kilmalcolm, 

Knox's  visit  to,  306 
"  First  Blast  of  the  Trumpet  against  the 

Monstruous  Regiment  of  Women," 

account  of,  227-244  ;  ii.  262 
Fhst  Book  of  Common   Prayer,    106, 

III,  127 
Forfarshire,  Knox's  visit  to,  298,  299 
Forress,    David,    a    hearer    of   Knox, 

294,  296 
Forrest   or   Forrester,    David,    ii.    316 

and  note 
Foxe,   John,    the    martyrologist,    232, 

note 
France,    its    relations    with    Scotland, 

36-41 
Francis  I.,  his  relations  with  Scotland, 

Francis  II.,  husband  of  Mary  Stewart, 
his  death,  and  its  bearing  on  the 
state  of  Scotland,  ii.  96 

Franciscan  Monastery  in  Perth  destroyed, 
ii.  8 

Frankfort  Troubles,  1 62-1 86 

Galley-slaves,    their    mode   of  life, 

81,  82 
Gait,  John,  his  Annals  of  the  Parish 

quoted  regarding    Knox's    house    at 

the  Netherbow,  ii.  319,  note 
Gardiner,  Bishop  of  Winchester,  160, 

)iote 
Gau,  John,  289,  note 
Geneva,    162;    Knox's  work   in,    187- 

214  ;  ii.   124  ;  Knox  wishes  to  return 

there,  247  ;   results  of  his  work   in, 

291 
Geneva,  Order  of,  193  ;  ii.  136,  note 
Gentili,  Valentino,  201 
Gifford,  village  of,  once  supposed  to  be 

the  birthplace  of  Knox,  10,  11 
Gififordgate,  il,  note 
Gilby,  Anthony,   193 
Gillon,  John,  ii.  109 
Glasgow,  Cathedral  of,  21 


Glasgow,  University  of,  21-27 

City  of,  21 

Glauburg,  Adolph  von,  nephew  of 
Johann,   185 

Glauburg,  Johann  von,  164,  165,  180, 
181 

Glencairn,  Earl  of,  205  ;  account  of 
him,  306  ;  344  ;  leads  a  Protestant 
force  against  Perth,  ii.  13  ;  and  also 
to  Edinburgh,  23  ;  93,  107,  108, 
176,  287 

Goodman,  Christopher,  colleague  of 
Knox  in  Geneva,  193,  203  ;  his 
"  Obedience  to  Superior  Powers," 
231,  242,  243  ;  ii.  20,  100,  loi 

Gordon,  titular  archbishop  of  Athens, 
ii.  186 

Gospel,  The  Eternal,  33 

Goulart,  Simon,  his  edition  of  Beza's 
Icones,  ii.  321 

Grange,  laird  of.  See  Kirkcaldy  of 
Grange 

Greek,  Knox's  knowledge  of,  30 

Grey,  Lord,  commands  the  English 
troops  before  Leith,  ii.  74,  75 

Grimani,  the  Legate,  his  opinion  re- 
garding the  religious  state  of  Scot- 
land, 285 

Grindal,  Edmund,  172 

Guise,  House  of,  its  aims  in  Scotland, 
317,  321,  note 

Guise,  Cardinal  of,  276 

Guthrie,  Mrs.,  a  correspondent  of 
Knox,  208 

Haddington,  Burgh  School  of,  15, 
17-19 

Haddington,  12,  13,  14;  siege  of, 
270  ;  havoc  wrought  near  it  by  the 
French,  275 

Hamilton,  Archibald,  9,  273;  ii.  274; 
his  slanders  regarding  Knox,  311, 
312 

Hamilton,  John,  Archbishop  of  St. 
Andrews,  70,  77  ;  his  relations  to 
Mary  of  Lorraine,  272,  273;  opposed 
to  the  French  alliance,  283  ;  his 
moderation  towards  heretics,  284 ; 
his  "  Catechism,"  2S9 ;  his  corre- 
spondence with  the  Earl  of  Argyle, 
329  ;  332  ;  threatens  Knox  at  St. 
Andrews,  ii.  17 ;  retires  to  Leith, 
50 ;  takes  refuge  in  Edinburgh 
Castle,  71  ;  89,  92  ;  committed  to 
ward  in  Edinburgh,  187,  188  ; 
restored  to  full  consistorial  powers, 
237 


330 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 


Hamilton,  Patrick,  49 

Hamilton,  Robert,  minister,  accom- 
panies Knox  to  England,  ii.  40  ; 
minister  in  St.  Andrews,  266,  273 

Harlaw,  William,  account  of  him,  290  ; 
330 

Henry  II.  of  France,  152;  his  action 
in  Scotland,  318;  his  ill -fortune, 
319  ;  his  death,  ii.  27,  80 

Henry  VIII.,  his  policy  towards  Scot- 
land, 37,  64,  267  ;  his  intention  of 
uniting  his  son  Edward  to  Mary 
Stewart,  and  his  daughter  Elizabeth 
to  the  Earl  of  Arran,  ii.  46 

Hepburn,  John,  Bishop  of  Brechin,  301 

Herbert,  George,  quoted,  ii.  197,  note 

Herries,  Lord.    See  Maxwell,  Master  of 

Hertford,  Earl  of.  See  Somerset, 
Duke  of 

Hickman,  Mrs.,  143 

History  of  the  Refonnatio7i  in  Scotland, 
Knox's,  31  ;  ii.  94  ;  account  of  it, 
211-225 

Holyrood,  Abbot  of,  17 

Homilies,  Book  (j/J   107 

Hondius,  his  engraving  of  Knox  for 
Verheiden's  Imagines,  ii.  321 

Hood,  Thomas,  165 

Hooper,  Anne,  wife  of  Bishop  Hooper, 
165,  7tote 

Hooper,  Bishop,  compared  with  Knox, 
117  ;   128,  168 

Horn,  Robert,  186 

Howard,  Sir  George,  ii.  75 

Huguenots,  their  Confession  of  Faith,  ii. 
125  ;  their  predominance  in  France, 
157  ;  their  reverses,  180 

Hume,  Alexander,  Lord,  8 

Huntly,  George,  fourth  Earl  of,  ii.  30, 
48,  76,  77,  78,  95,  103  ;  his  rebel- 
lion, 176 

Huntly,  George,  Lord  Gordon,  fifth 
Earl  of,  ii.  241,  254 

Huss,  John,  55 

Hutten,  Ulrich  von,  52 

Innocent  HI.,  33 

Institutes    of  the    Christian    Religion, 

Calvin's,  99,  246 
Irving,  Edward,  his  opinion  of  the  first 

.Scottish  Confession,  ii.  123,  note 
Isaack,  Mr.,  of  Kent,  180,  1S3 

James  I.  of  Scotland,  his  letter  to  the 
Augustinian  and  Dominican  priors, 
42 

James  V.,  62 


James  VI.,  his  opinion  of  his  grand- 
mother, Mary  of  Lorraine,  345,  note 

Jewel,  Bishop,  17S,  note 

Joachim  of  Flora,  33 

John  of  Leyden,  56 

Johnson,  Dr.  Samuel,  ii.  295 

Justification  by  Faith,  as  felt  and 
understood  by  Knox,  90,  96-99 

Kennedy,  Quintin,  Abbot  of  Crossra- 
guel,  118,  286;  his  public  dispute 
with  Knox,  ii.  176-178 

Kennedy,  Walter,  47 

Ker,  James,  of  Samuelston,  8 

Ker,  Nicola,  8 

Killigrew,  English  resident  in  Edin- 
burgh, his  description  of  Knox,  ii. 
284 

Kilwinning,  Abbey  of,  ii.   108 

Kirkcaldy,  Sir  William,  of  Grange,  72, 
86  ;  his  letter  to  Sir  Henry  Percy, 
ii.  24;  65,  204,  note  ;  takes  the  side 
of  Mary,  255,  256  ;  his  quarrel  with 
Knox,  259-261  ;  Knox's  last  mes- 
sage to  him,  286 

Kneeling  at  Communion,  Knox's  oppo- 
sition to  it,  127-130 

Knox,  Eleazer,  son  of  John  Knox,  his 
birth,  213  ;  ii.  289 

Knox,  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  John 
Knox,  ii.  289 

Knox,  John,  birth  and  parentage,  4-9  ; 
birthplace,  9- 11;  early  surround- 
ings, 11-15  ;  early  education,  11-19; 
sent  to  the  University  of  Glasgow, 
20  ;  studies  under  John  Major,  25  ; 
character  of  his  studies,  27-30; 
passes  out  of  sight  from  1522  to 
1545,  31;  his  breach  with  the  old 
Church,  57  ;  priest,  tutor,  and  apos- 
tolical notary,  58-61  ;  his  association 
with  George  Wishart  and  his  debt  to 
him,  66  ;  persecuted  by  Archbishop 
Hamilton,  70  ;  enters  the  Castle  of 
St.  Andrews,  71  ;  appointed  minister 
of  the  new  faith,  74  ;  his  disputes 
with  the  Catholic  clergy,  77  ;  taken 
prisoner  by  the  French,  and  sent  to 
the  galleys,  80  ;  incidents  of  his  life 
in  the  galleys,  83-87  ;  is  released 
through  the  offices  of  Edward  VI., 
88  ;  account  of  his  religious  opinions, 
89-99;  his  arrival  in  England, 
104  ;  appointed  preacher  at  Ber- 
wick, 108;  his  life  there,  109;  be- 
comes acquainted  with  the  family  of  *> 
Bowes,  III,  112;  removes  to  New- 


INDEX 


T:>^ 


castle,  113;  before  the  Council  of  the 
North,  1 1 4- 1 1 8 ;  his  life  in  Newcastle, 
1 18-132  ;  his  relations  to  the  Dukes 
of  Somerset  and  Northumberland, 
119  ;  made  a  licensed  preacher  and 
a  royal  chaplain,  121  ;  is  offered  the 
bishopric  of  Rochester,  which  he  re- 
fuses, 123  ;  relations  to  Northumber- 
land, 124-126  ;  preaches  before  Ed- 
ward VI.,  126;  effects  the  suppression 
of  the  proposed  Rubric  on  Kneeling 
at  Communion  in  the  Second  English 
Prayer -Book,  127-130;  article  on 
Cer^wfiiWiVisuppressed  mainly  through 
him,  131  ;  resides  in  London,  133  ; 
offered  the  vicarage  of  Allhallows, 
135  ;  his  activity  as  a  preacher  in 
England,  138-142;  is  forced  to  leave 
England  on  the  accession  of  Mary 
Tudor,  143  ;  goes  to  the  Continent, 
148  ;  writes  to  his  friends  from 
Dieppe,  153  ;  visits  Switzerland, 
where  he  sees  Calvin  and  Bullinger, 
154;  returns  to  Dieppe,  158;  his 
"  FaythfuU  admonition  unto  the 
professours  of  God's  truthe  in 
England,"  159-161;  returns  to 
Geneva,  162  ;  chosen  minister  of 
the  English  congregation  in  Frank- 
fort, 171  ;  his  experiences  there, 
172-180;  is  forced  to  leave  Frank- 
fort, 184  ;  returns  to  Geneva,  188  ; 
appointed  minister  of  the  English 
exiles  there,  190 ;  visits  Scotland, 
where  he  remains  for  a  year,  190- 
192;  returns  to  Geneva,  where  he 
takes  up  his  duties  as  minister, 
193  ;  leaves  Geneva  for  Scotland, 
but  is  stayed  at  Dieppe,  206  ;  writes 
"  A  Letter  to  his  Brethren  in  Scot- 
land," "  A  Letter  to  the  Professors 
of  the  Truth  in  Scotland,"  and 
"The  First  Blast  of  the  Trumpet 
against  the  Monstruous  Regiment 
of  Women,"  211  ;  returns  once 
more  to  Geneva,  212  ;  which  he 
leaves  on  the  death  of  Mary  Tudor, 
213  ;  again  in  Dieppe,  215  ;  his 
labours  there  and  their  results, 
215-221  ;  communications  with 
Cecil,  223-226;  his  "first  Blast 
against  the  Monstruous  Regiment  of 
Women,"  226-244;  his  pamphlet 
on  Predestination,  244-263  ;  pre- 
paration for  his  work  in  Scot- 
land, 268-292  ;  his  work  in  Scotland 
during  1555-1556,  293-313;  arrival 


in  Edinburgh,  his  preachings  there, 
293-298  ;  visits  the  House  of  Dun 
in  Forfarshire,  298  ;  also  Calder 
House,  302  ;  returns  to  Edinburgh, 
whence  he  proceeds  to  Ayrshire, 
305  ;  at  Finlayson,  306 ;  visits 
Calder  House  for  the  second  time, 
306 ;  summoned  to  Edinburgh  on 
a  charge  of  heresy,  307  ;  at  Castle 
Campbell,  near  Dollar,  312  ;  returns 
to  Geneva,  313;  his  "Appellation 
to  the  Nobility  and  Estates  of  Scot- 
land," 313;  relations  to  Mary  of 
Lorraine,  314;  his  various  letters 
to  Scotland  from  the  Continent, 
348-358  ;  final  return  of  Knox  to 
Scotland,  ii.  4  ;  in  Edinburgh  and 
Dundee,  4,  5  ;  proceeds  to  Perth, 
5  ;  his  doings  there,  7,  8  ;  his  inter- 
views with  the  Protestant  Lords, 
12-14;  goes  to  St.  Andrews,  16; 
results  of  his  preaching  there,  17-18  ; 
at  Scone,  21  ;  in  Edinburgh,  23  ; 
retires  with  the  Lords  to  Stirling, 
31  ;  acts  as  secretary  and  agent  to 
the  Congregation,  34-61  ;  his  cor- 
respondence with  English  states- 
men, 36,  37  ;  visits  the  north  of 
England,  40,  41  ;  returns  to  Stirling, 
41  ;  his  preaching  journeys,  43  ;  in 
St.  Andrews,  43  ;  his  letter  to  Sir 
James  Crofts,  49,  50  ;  assents  to  the 
deposition  of  Mary  of  Lorraine,  51  ; 
his  heavy  labours,  56  ;  retires  with 
the  Lords  to  StirHng,  59 ;  ceases  to  be 
secretary,  62  ;  his  sermon  at  Cupar- 
Fife,  66  ;  upbraids  Arran  and  his 
father,  67,  69  ;  his  relations  to  Mary 
of  Lorraine,  79-81  ;  preaches  in  St. 
Giles's,  84,  85  ;  his  communications 
with  France,  90,  91  ;  friend  and 
adviser  of  Arran,  92,  93  ;  death  of 
his  wife,  95,  96  ;  interview  with  the 
Lord  James  Stewart  and  Chatel- 
herault,  96  ;  desires  a  marriage 
between  Arran  and  Mary,  97  ;  his 
troubles  in  Edinburgh,  108,  109  ; 
his  disquiet  at  the  arrival  of  Mary, 
155  ;  in  opposition  to  the  Protestant 
Lords,  159;  sermon  in  St.  Giles's, 
160,  161  ;  first  interview  with  Mary, 
163-167  ;  the  breach  widened  be- 
tween him  and  the  Protestant  Lords, 
168  ;  reconciles  Arran  and  Bothwell, 
173,  174;  dispute  with  Maitland, 
175;  visits  the  West  and  South  of 
Scotland,  176;  public  dispute  with 


332 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 


the  Abbot  of  Crossraguel,  177,  178  ; 
returns  to  Edinburgh,  179;  meeting 
with  Chatelherauh,  180  ;  second  in- 
terview with  Mary,  180  ;  third  in- 
terview, 185,  186;  his  quarrel  with 
Moray,  189  ;  preaches  against  the 
rumoured  marriage  of  Mary  and 
Don  Carlos,  190  ;  fourth  interview 
with  Mary,  192-197;  is  tried 
for  treason,  199,  200 ;  his  second 
marriage,  201  ;  long  dispute  with 
Maitland,  203,  204  ;  preaches  be- 
fore Darnley,  208  ;  suspended  from 
preaching  in  Edinburgh,  209  ;  his 
"Historic  of  the  Reformation  in 
Scotland,"  211-225;  prepares  the 
"Order  of  the  General  Fast,"  228  ; 
leaves  Edinburgh  for  a  time,  229 ;  his 
attitude  towards  the  Rizzio  murder, 
231  ;  flees  to  Kyle,  233  ;  returns  to 
Edinburgh,  236  ;  goes  on  a  visit  to 
England,  239  ;  again  in  Edinburgh, 
242  ;  presses  for  the  deposition  and 
punishment  of  Mary ;  242,  243  ; 
works  in  common  with  the  Regent 
Moray,  246  ;  his  temporary  de- 
pression, 250 ;  his  grief  on  the 
assassination  of  Moray,  250-252  ; 
denounces  the  author  of  a  pasquin- 
ade against  Moray,  255  ;  his  last 
years  as  recorded  in  the  "  Memo- 
rial es  "  of  Richard  Bannatyne,  256, 
257  ;  is  struck  with  apoplexy,  259  ; 
his  quarrel  with  Kirkcaldy  of  Grange, 
259-261  ;  attempts  to  discredit  him, 
262  ;  interview  with  Maitland  in  the 
Castle  of  Edinburgh,  264,  265  ;  re- 
turns to  St.  Andrews,  266 ;  described 
by  James  Melville,  267,  268  ;  dis- 
pute with  Morton  regarding  bishops, 
209,  210;  his  various  troubles  in 
St.  Andrews,  272-274  ;  his  contro- 
versy with  the  Jesuit,  James  Tyrie, 
275-277;  letter  to  the  General 
Assembly,  278  ;  returns  to  Edin- 
burgh, 280  ;  appoints  a  colleague 
and  successor,  281,  282  ;  denounces 
the  Massacre  of  St.  Bartholmew,  282, 
283  ;  recommends  the  punishment  of 
Mary,  284 ;  inducts  his  successor, 
285  ;  last  illness  and  death,  2S5- 
288  ;  his  family  and  relations,  289  ; 
personal  appearance,  290  ;  estimate 
of  his  character  and  work,  290- 
298 
Knox,  Margaret,  daughter  of  John 
Knox,  ii.  289 


Knox,  Martha,  daughter  of  John  Knox, 

ii.  289 
Nathaniel,   son    of  John    Knox, 

his  birth,  213  ;  ii.  289 

Paul,  nephew  of  John  Knox,  ii. 

289 

William,   father   of  John  Knox, 

4,  10 

William,  brother  of  John  Knox, 

8 ;  ii.  41,  note ;  289 

Kyle,  in  Ayrshire,  Knox's  stay  in,  ii. 
232,  233 

Laing,  James,  his  slanders  regarding 

Knox,  ii.  311,  313 
La  Jonchee,  preaches  in  Dieppe,  217 
Lamartine,  Alphonse  de,  ii.   197 
Langside,  battle  of,  ii.  248 
La   Popeliniere,    French  historian,    ii. 

216 
Latimer,    Bishop,  28,  29  ;  his  opinion 

of   the    German    Reformation,     71  ; 

compared  with  Knox,  I17  ;   249 
Lawson,  James,  chosen  as  successor  of 

Knox,  ii.  281  ;  his  induction,  285 
Leith,  ii.  44,  47,  48,  50,  64,  66 
Lennox,   Earl   of,    ii.    230 ;  appointed 

Regent  of  Scotland,  257  ;  262 
Leslie,    Bishop,    friendly    to    Mary  of 

Lorraine,  283,  note ;  ii.    100,    loi  ; 

goes  on  a  secret  mission  to  France, 

104  ;  212,  222 
Leslie,  Norman,  72,  267 
Lethington.      See  Maitland,  William 
Letter  of  Wholesome  Counsel,  addressed 

by  Knox  to  the  Scottish  Protestants, 

323 
Lever,  Thomas,  174,  180 
Leyden,  John  of,  249 
Liber  Visitatorius  of  Melanchthon,  ii. 

Lindores,  Abbey  of,  ii.   19 

Lindsay,  Patrick,  Master  of,  afterwards 

Lord  Lindsay,  ii.  69,  230,  287 
Livre  des  Anglois,  description  of,  20I 
Lochleven,  ii.   185 
Locke,    Mrs.,    Knox   at   her  house   in 

London,    143  ;    settles  in    Geneva, 

212;  letters  from  Knox  to  her,  222; 

ii.    4,    20,    23,    43,    66,    68,    155, 

167 
Lockhart,   Robert,  a  hearer  of  Knox, 

296 
Lollards  in  Scotland,  45-48 
Lollards  of  Kyle,  47,  305 
London,  Knox  in,  133 
Longniddry  House,  66,  70 


INDEX 


333 


Longniddry,  Laird  of.      See  Douglas, 

Hugh 
Lords  of  the  Cotigregation,  origin  of  the 

name,  327 
Lord  Lorn.      See  Argyle,  fifth  Earl  of 
Lothian,  East,  II,  12 
Lotliian,  Lamp  of,  13 
Louis  XIL  and  Scotland,  36 
Luther,  4,  9  ;  writings  of,  in  Scotland, 

48  ;     Knox's    relations    to,   92  ;    on 

Freewill,     245  ;      contrasted     with 

Knox,  ii.  258,  294 
Lutheran,  for  Knox  a  term  of  reproach, 

7 1 ,  iiole 
Lyndsay,     Sir    David,     40,     50  ;     his 

attitude  towards  Rome,  52-54,   75, 

76 

Maitland,  Sir  Richard,  father  of 
William  Maitland,  297 

Maitland,  Thomas,  author  of  a  pas- 
quinade against  the  Regent  Moray, 
ii.  254,  note  ;  255 

Maitland,  William,  of  Lethington,  his 
discussion  with  Knox,  297  ;  corre- 
sponds with  Cecil,  ii.  33  ;  meditates 
joining  the  Congregation,  48  ;  takes 
this  step,  60  ;  sent  on  a  mission  to 
England,  61  ;  message  from,  63  ; 
success  of  his  mission,  68  ;  makes 
one  of  an  embassy  to  England,  93, 
108,  note;  no;  adviser  of  the 
Queen,  157,  159;  parts  company 
with  Knox,  167  ;  175,  181,  186, 
198,  199,  200  ;  his  dispute  with 
Knox,  203,  204  ;  defends  Knox, 
227  ;  joins  the  side  of  Mary,  254  ; 
quoted,  261  ;  his  last  interview  with 
Knox,  263-265,  286 

Major,  John,  10,  note  ;  13,  14,  20-28, 
40,  44,  50-52,  263,  287  ;  his  views 
regarding  political  assassination,  ii. 
304,  }!ote 

Mar,  Regent.      See  Erskine,  John 

Marischal,  Earl,  William  Keith,  his 
attitude  towards  Reform,  30S  ;  ii. 
103,  168 

Marsiliers,  Pierre  de,  first  teacher  of 
Greek  in  Scotland,  300 

Mary  of  Lorraine,  Regent  of  Scotland, 
results  of  her  rule,  268,  269  ;  her 
policy,  273-275  ;  her  letter  to  her 
brothers  regarding  the  state  of  Scot- 
land, 276 ;  aims  at  the  Regency, 
278  ;  goes  to  France,  279 ;  her 
return,  279  ;  is  made  Regent,  281  ; 
seeks  to  form  a  standing  army,  282, 


283  ;  conciliates  the  Protestants, 
291  ;  her  opinion  of  Erskine  of 
Dun,  300 ;  Knox's  letter  to  her, 
309-312  :  her  power  shaken,  325  ; 
her  interview  with  the  Protestant 
lairds,  331  ;  aims  at  the  matri- 
monial crown  for  the  Dauphin,  335  ; 
breaks  faith  with  the  Protestants, 
345  ;  her  interview  with  Erskine  of 
Dun,  ii.  5  j  summons  her  forces,  9  ; 
enters  Perth,  15  ;  her  breaches  of 
faith,  15,  7tote  ;  at  Falkland,  17-19  ; 
retires  to  Dunbar,  22  ;  enters  Edin- 
burgh, 30 ;  73  ;  her  death  and 
character,  78-80 

Mary,  Queen  of  Scots,  no;  sent  to 
France,  270,  271  ;  her  opinion  of 
Erskine  of  Dun,  300  ;  proposals  for 
her  marriage  with  the  Dauphin, 
319  ;  her  aims  on  the  eve  of  return- 
ing to  Scotland,  ii.  105,  note ;  her 
opposition  to  Knox,  1 1 1  ;  her 
character  and  aims,  158;  contrasted 
with  Knox,  162  ;  her  first  interview 
with  Knox,  163-166  ;  Knox's  im- 
pression of  her,  166  ;  her  expedition 
against  Huntly,  175,  176  ;  her 
successive  interviews  with  Knox, 
181,  185,  186,  190-197;  her  char- 
acter as  shown  in  these  interviews, 
195-197  ;  her  progress  in  the  West, 
197  ;  present  at  the  trial  of  Knox, 
199,  200  ;  seeks  to  lay  hands  on 
Knox,  233  ;  her  concessions  to 
the  Protestants,  237  ;  Knox  demands 
her  punishment,  243,  244  ;  her 
escape  from  Lochleven,  defeat  at 
Langside,  and  flight  to  England, 
248  ;  proposals  for  bringing  her  to 
Scotland  for  trial,  283,  284 

Maxwell,  Master  of  (Lord  Herries),  ii. 
179,  199,  254 

Maxwell  -  Stirling,  Sir  William,  his 
opinion  of  Knox  and  his  work,  ii. 
295,  note 

Maxwellcleuch,  319 

Maybole,  ii.   177 

Meianchthon,  160  ;  on  Predestination, 
258  ;  ii.  201 

Melville,  Andrew,  356  ;  the  con- 
tinuator  of  the  work  of  Knox,  ii. 
279  ;  his  humanity,  296 

Melville,  Sir  James,  his  Memoirs,  284, 
note;  ii.  212,  223 

Melville,  James,  quoted,  ii.  239  ;  his 
account  of  Knox  in  St.  Andrews, 
266-268 


334 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX 


Mercenaries,  the  French,  in  Scotland, 
275,  276  ;  hated  by  the  Scots,  282 

Methven,  Paul,  preacher,  346  ;  ac- 
cused of  adultery,  ii.  183,  184 

Mezeray,  the  historian,  his  opinion 
regarding  the  death  of  the  Scottish 
Commissioners,  321,  note 

Mill,  Walter,  burned  as  a  heretic  at 
St.  Andrews,  330 

Milton,  compared  with  Dante,  ii.  116  ; 
his  opinion  of  Knox,  214,  note 

Ministers,  election  of,  ii.  1 30  ;  admis- 
sion of,  lb. 

Montaigu  College,  23 

Montrose,  town  of,  298,  299  ;  Greek 
first  taught  there,  300  ;  a  stronghold 
of  Protestantism,  345 

Moray,  Earl  of  (afterwards  the  Regent 
Moray),  205  ;  account  of  his  youth, 
304,  305  ;  chosen  as  representative 
to  go  to  France,  320 ;  appointed 
Commissioner  to  convey  the  "  Hon- 
ours "  to  France,  322  ;  his  part  in 
the  Reformation,  ii.  3 ;  sent  to 
Perth  by  Mary  of  Lorraine,  12  ;  his 
interview  with  Knox,  14;  leavesPerth 
for  St.  Andrews,  16  ;  in  Fife,  18; 
goes  to  St.  Andrews,  63  ;  fights  the 
French,  65  ;  goes  to  Berwick,  69  ; 
his  interview  with  Knox,  96  ;  sent 
on  a  mission  to  France,  his  aims 
and  policy,  104,  105  and  note  ;  108, 
no;  Mary's  chief  adviser,  157, 
159  ;  his  backsliding  in  the  eyes  of 
Knox,  167  ;  Knox's  quarrel  with 
him,  189,  190;  driven  from  Scot- 
land, 206,  207  ;  returns  to  Scotland, 
and  is  made  Regent,  245,  246,  247- 
250;  his  assassination,  251  ;  Knox's 
sermon  on  his  death,  his  character, 
251,  252  ;  pasquinade  against,  254, 

255 

More,  Sir  Thomas,  160;  ii.  201,  277 

Morham,  parish  of,  probable  birthplace 
of  Knox,  6,  8,  9-1 1 

Mornay,  du  Plessis-,  compared  with 
Moray,  ii.  251 

Morton,  Earl  of  (afterwards  Regent 
Morton),  ii.  48,  76,  77,  78  ;  con- 
spires against  Rizzio,  230,  236 ; 
takes  for  a  time  the  place  of  Moray, 
241  ;  254  ;  his  character  and  aims, 
269 ;  his  attempt  to  introduce 
Episcopacy,  270,  272,  278,  283, 
284  ;  proclaimed  Regent,  his  words 
at  the  grave  of  Knox,  288  ;  309, 
310 


Mosman,    James,    proprietor    of  John 
Knox's  house  at  the  Netherbow,  ii. 

317-319 
Mowbray,  Robert,  ii.  316,  317 

Nantes,  Knox  a  captive  in,  83 
Newcastle,  Knox's  work  in,  113-132  ; 

he  revisits  it,  134 
Newman,  Cardinal,  ii.  293,  and  note 
New  Testament,   translation  of,  made 

in  Geneva,  205 
Nobles,     Scottish,     their     accomplish- 
ments, 313 
Northumberland,  Duke  of,    1 19,    120, 

122  ;  his  relations  with  Knox,  123- 

126,   137 
Notary,  Apostolical,  description  of  the 

office,  59,  60 
Notre  Dame,  Church  of,  321 
Novum    Hospitiuin    in    St.    Andrews, 

residence  of  Knox,  ii.  266,  note 

Ochiltree,  Andrew   Stewart,    Lord, 

father-in-law  of  Knox,   ii.  63,    195, 

200,  201 
Order   of  the    General   Fast,   ii.    228, 

229 
Ordojtnances  of  the  Church  of  Geneva, 

compared  with  Book  of  Discipline, 

ii.   127 
Ormiston,  the  laird  of.     See  Cockburn, 

John 

Paisley,  Abbey  of,  ii.  108 

Panter,  Bishop  of  Ross,  280 

Papacy  in  the  Middle  Ages,  32,  33 

Paris,  University  of,  23 

Pascal  on  Predestination,  251,  note 

Pastors,  Company  of,  in  Geneva,  1 87 

Paul  IV.,  Pope,  318 

Peasants'  War,  56 

Percy,   Sir  Henry,   letter  of  Knox  to, 

ii.  23,  36,  39 
Perth,  a  stronghold  of  Protestantism, 

345  ;    assembly    of    Protestants    in, 

ii-  5  ;  6-9 
Philip  n.  of  Spain,  his  policy  towards 

Scotland,  ii.   156 
Pinkie,  battle  of,  269 
Pittenweem,  ii.  40,  69 
Policy  of  the  Church,  ii.   146 
Port-Royalists,  their   view    of  human 

nature,  256,  note 
Portraits  of  Knox,  ii.  320-324 
Predestination,     Knox's     treatise     on, 

245  -  263  ;    an    absorbing    topic     in 

Geneva,   248  ;  the  constitutive  idea 


INDEX 


335 


of  Calvinism,  251,  252;  counte- 
nanced by  the  laws  of  nature,  255 

Prestonpans,  ii.  72 

Privy  Council,  tries  Knoi  for  treason, 
ii.  198-209 

Prophesy ings,  ii.  147 

Provincial  Council  of  1549,  2S6  ;  of 
1552,   288;    last  held  in  Scotland, 

342-344 
Pullain,  Vallerand,   164,  165,  180 
Puritanism,  its  origin,  172  ;  Knox  one 

of  its  founders,  ii.  290,  291 

Quarry  or  Quarrel  Holes  on  the 
Calton  Hill,  Edinburgh,  ii.  29,  note 

Rabelais,  24,  53 

Randolph,  Thomas,  letters  of,  to  Cecil, 

ii.    102,    114,  note,  161,  179;    letter 

regarding    Knox    and    Mary,    182  ; 

226  ;   306-308 
Ranfurly,  the  Knoxes  of,  4,  5 
Readers,  their  function  in  the  Reformed 

Scottish  Church,  ii.  131 
Realism  of  the  Middle  Ages,  34 
Reformatio     Legntn     Ecclesiasticariun, 

ii.   124,  135 
Reid,  Bishop  of  Orkney,  286 
Renaissance,  34 

Resby,  James,  burned  as  a  heretic,  45 
Rizzio,  David,  his  influence  over  Mary, 

ii.  206,  226  ;  his  assassination,  230, 

231 
Robertson,  Principal,  284,  note 
Rochefoucauld,  Charles    de,    Sieur   de 

Randan,  ii.  81 
Rochester,     bishopric    of,     offered    to 

Knox,  123,  124 
Rothes,  Andrew,  fourth  Earl  of,  ii.  63 
Roubay,  Vice-chancellor  of  Scotland, 

281 
Rough,  John,  74,  75 
Row,  John,   ii.  88,  7iote 
Rubric,  Black,  129,  130 
Rutherford,    Provost  of  St.    Salvator's 

College,  St,  Andrews,  ii.  273 
Ruthven,  Patrick,   third   Lord,  provost 

of  Perth,  345  ;  ii.    63,  69,  95,  230, 

287,  306-309 

Sadler,  Sir  Ralph,  his  mission  to  the 
Congregation,  ii.  42  ;  his  opinion  of 
the  Scottish  nobles,  234 

St.  Andrews,  Castle  of,  Knox  besieged 
in,  71-78,  267 

St.  Andrews,  town  of,  results  of  Knox's 


preaching   in,   ii.    16-19  ;    Knox  re- 
sides in,  43,  63,  266-279 
St.   Andrews,    University  of,    20,   46  ; 

ii.   137-139,  272,  273 
St.  Bartholomew,  Massacre  of,  its  re- 
sults in  Scotland,  ii.  282,  283 
St.  Bernard,  73  ;  ii.  119 
Sainte-Beuve,   his  opinion  of  the  Cal- 

vinist  view  of  human  nature,  256,  note 
St.  Columba,  ii.  293 
St.   Giles,   Church  of,  ii.  84,  85,  160, 

208,  252,  281,  285 
St.   Giles,  his    image    broken,    riot  in 

connection  with,  332-335 
St.    Leonard's  College,    St.    Andrews, 

ii.  266,  267,  272,  273 
St.  Quentin,  battle  of,  199 
Samuelston,  residence  of  Knox,  59 
Sandilands,    Sir  James,    the    elder,   of 

Calder,  302,  328 
Sandilands,  Sir  James,  Lord  St.  John, 

302,  ii.  86,  note,  91 
Savonarola,    19,  86  ;  his  view  of  life, 

ii.  119,  120;  compared  with  Knox, 

294 
Savoy,  Dukes  of,  199 
Scone,  Abbey  and  Palace  of,   burned, 

ii.  21 
Scott,  Michael,  33,  34 
Seaton,  George,  Lord,  274  ;  ii.  50 
Second  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  119, 

166,  169 
Sempill,  Lord,  ii.   12,  and  note 
Sime,  James,  a  burgess  of  Edinburgh 

with    whom    Knox    stays,    294  ;    ii. 

315 
Sinclair,  the  name  of  Knox's  mother, 

.7,8 
Sinclerius,  probably  correct  reading  for 

Tijiioterius,  175-176,  note 
Smeton,  Thomas,  his  reply  to  Archi- 
bald Hamilton,  ii.  285,  note 
Smyth,   Dr.    Richard,   probably  had   a 

hand  in  Hamilton's  Catechism,  289, 

note 
Socialism  of  the   Book  of   Discipline, 

ii.  148 
Somerset,    Duke    of,    105,    106,    107, 

113,  119,  120,  122;  his  invasion  of 

Scotland,  265,  268 
Somerville  Portrait  of  Knox,  ii.   320, 

321 
Spottiswoode,  John,   superintendent  of 

Lothian,  ii.  88,  note,  102 
Spottiswoode,  the  historian,  quoted,  ii. 

258 
Stark,   his    Picture   of  Edinburgh    re- 


336 


LIFE   OF  JOHN  KNOX 


fened  to  regarding  Knox's  house  at 

the  Netherbow,  ii.  319 
Stewart,  Archibald,  ii.  285,  286 
Stewart,  the  Lord  James.      See  Moray, 

Earl  of 
Stewart,   Margaret,  daughter  of   Lord 

Ochiltree,   second  wife  of  Knox,  ii. 

200,    201  ;    her  children   to  Knox, 

289 
Stirling,   the    new   doctrines    preached 

in,   ii.  43  ;   Knox's  sermon  in,  245, 

246 
Strassburg,  English  exiles  in,  169 
Strozzi,   Leo,   takes    the   castle   of   St. 

Andrews,  79,  So 
Superintendents,  ii.  134,  135 
Sutherland,  John,  eleventh  Earl  of,  ii. 

103 
Sutton,  Edmund,  165 
Switzerland,  Knox's  travels  in,   154 

Temple  de  Notre  Dame  la  Neuve,  in 
Geneva,  granted  to  the  English 
exiles  as  a  place  of  worship,  193 

Throgmorton,  English  ambassador  in 
Paris,  his  letters  regarding  Scotland, 
ii.  35  ;  Knox's  acquaintance  with 
him,  36  ;  his  opinion  of  Knox,  ib.  ; 
162  ;  his  interview  with  Knox,  243  ; 
quoted,  246 

Tolbooth,  Edinburgh,  ii.  51,  259 

Tolbooth,  part  of  the  church  of  St. 
Giles  where  Knox  preached,  ii.  281 

Torphichen  portrait  of  Knox,  ii.  321 

Trent,  Council  of,  ii.  275 

Trunk  Close,  Edinburgh,  ii.  316 

Tudor,  Margaret,  sister  of  Henry 
VIIL,  contrasted  with  Mary  of 
Lorraine,  273 

Tudor,  Mary,  153,  156,  159,  162; 
her  accession,  and  its  results  for 
Scotland,  289 

Tunstall,  Cuthbert,  Bishop  of  Durham, 

"5 

Tylney,  Emery,  65 

Tyrie,  James,  the  Jesuit,  his  contro- 
versy with  Knox,  ii.  275 

Tytler,  Eraser,  the  historian,  on  Knox 
and  the  Rizzio  murder,  ii.  304-310 

Urquhart,  Sir  Thomas,  ii.  222 


Utenhovius,  his  reference  to  Knox, 
126,  127 

Valence,  Jean  de  Monluc,  Bishop  of, 

ii.    76,  81 
Vautrollier,  Thomas,  printer,  ii.  214 
Vauvenargues,  on  Predestination,  251, 

note 
Venable,  Jean,  216,  217 
Verheiden  portrait  of  Knox,  ii.  321 
Villemore,  Controller  of  Scotland,  281 
Voltaire,  ii.  295 

Wallace,   Adam,  burned  for  heresy, 

288 
Walloons,    congregation   of,    settles    in 

Frankfort,  164,  165 
Waughton,  Laird  of,  291 
Wedderburns,  their  poems,  288,  ttote 
Wemyss,  Laird  of,  283 
Whitelaw,   Alexander,  an  agent  of  the 

Congregation,  ii.  41 
Whittingham,  William,  165,  167,  168, 

170,     171,     174,     175,     176,     179- 

186,    193  ;   settles  in  Geneva,   202, 

213 
William    of    Orange,    compared    with 

Regent  Moray,  ii.  251 
Williams,  William,  165 
Willock,  John,  account  of  him,   290, 

291  ;  ii.    14,    30,  51,   55,  88,  note; 

100,  loi,  247 
Wilson,  Elorence,  19 
Winzet,  Ninian,  ii.  225,  itotc 
Wishart,     George,     14,     15,    32  ;     his 

career  in  Scotland,  61-69,  76 
Women,     Knox's    relations     to,     294, 

295 
Wood,  John,  ii.  3,  note ;  249 
Wotton,  Dr. ,  Dean  of  Canterbury  and 

York,  ii.  81 
Wynram,    John,    his    discussion    with 

Knox,    77,    287,    289,  note  ;    ii.    88, 

note,  264,  272 
Wyntoun,  Andrew  of,  16,  iS 

Young,  Peter,  his  description  of 
Knox's  personal  appearance,  ii.  290, 
322,  324 

Zurich,  English  exiles  in,  169- 171 


Printed  by  R.  &  R.  Clark,  Limited,  Edinburgh. 


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